Iran has said it struck two tankers trying to pass through the strait of Hormuz under the escort of the US military as Donald Trump gathered his cabinet to discuss the stalling war and rising prices as midterm elections in the US loom.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Friday that the “non-compliant oil tankers … were struck and brought to a halt, while four other oil tankers quickly changed course and returned to their previous positions”. The military body said the ships had tried to pass through the strait via an “undeclared route” and under US aerial escort.
Iran and the US have said ships should pass through the strait via two competing routes, with Iran bombing ships that take the southern route, close to the coast of Oman, and the US bombing ships that violate its blockade of Iranian ships and ports.
US and Iran keep trading strikes over competing routes through Hormuz for weeks.
Iranian drones hit at Kuwaiti facilities same day.
Israel continues operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon despite ceasefire claims.
Public support for the war drops to lowest levels since it started. Inflation from energy disruption now a midterm issue.