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Iran has been launching about 30 drone attacks and 10 anti-ship missile attacks each week against commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of August, according to a New York Times report published on October 2, citing confidential data provided by a Western security official.
The attacks have largely gone unpublicized, according to the report, which notes that at least four commercial ships were struck by Iran during the past 10 days.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps appeared to acknowledge the attacks for the first time earlier this week, saying it was striking targets in the Strait of Hormuz every 24 hours.
“We prevent them from passing, but for some time now, America has not responded,” a Revolutionary Guard spokesman said on September 30.
The scale of the attacks is also reflected in a British Navy monitoring group’s tally. It recorded at least 13 ships, most of them oil tankers, hit by projectiles or projectile debris since September 10. The reports rely on voluntary accounts from ship crews and may be incomplete, and they do not identify the perpetrators in every case.
The attacks have continued even as Middle Eastern oil exports have recovered toward prewar levels. The report said a U.S. military operation protecting commercial vessels has encouraged additional shipments from major exporters including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Some vessels have been traveling through Omani territorial waters along the U.S. Navy-guided route, with U.S. fighter jets and attack helicopters providing protection.
But the increase in oil flows does not necessarily reflect a return to normal shipping through the strait. Cargo-tracking company Kpler said a significant portion of the additional exports is moving along routes that bypass the Strait of Hormuz altogether.
The Strait of Hormuz remains a key route for global oil and gas exports, giving Iran a means of disrupting maritime traffic even as more cargo has begun moving through the region. The Islamic Republic clearly still has the means to exert control over the waterway.
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