Shipping traffic at the Strait of Hormuz dwindled further at the start of this week after attacks intensified in ‌West Asia, shipping data showed.

Commodity vessel transits at Hormuz totalled four on ⁠Monday, down from 10 during the previous day, preliminary data from Kpler showed on Tuesday.

Two dry bulk carriers exited ‌the waterway, including one laden and one ballast vessel, while two oil tankers ‌entered the strait, both in ballast mode.

The ‌figures ⁠exclude some vessels that might have ⁠crossed the strait with their Automatic Identification System transponders turned off to avoid detection.

– Reuters

The United States said it destroyed three Iranian oil tankers in response to attempted missile attacks on naval vessels, with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards saying they targeted U.S.-linked ships in response.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said early Saturday it targeted tankers linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), accusing the most powerful arm of the Iranian military of unsuccessfully firing at American warships.

“Following Iran’s failed attacks, CENTCOM permanently disabled the IRGC crude oil carriers M/T Downy off the coast of Kharg Island and M/T Stark 1 near Jask,” it said.

– AFP

Iran attacked U.S. military bases in Kuwait, despite President Donald Trump threatening further strikes in a fresh flare-up six months into the war.

Mr. Trump said his military was prepared to attack Iran “any time we want” after extensive U.S. bombardment of sites across the country left at least 19 Iranians dead.

Tehran retaliated by hitting U.S. military targets across the West Asia, including in Kuwait, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region.

The clashes deepen the ongoing impasse in the war, as Iran maintains a stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz oil export route and the U.S. presses its counter-blockade of Iranian ports.

AFP

President Donald Trump warned that the United States was “not finished” attacking Iran as strikes continued on Tuesday, as Tehran broadened its offensive against Gulf states after its Houthi allies threatened to blockade Saudi ports.

Two weeks after fighting resumed between the decades-old foes, Mr. Trump said Iran would need more than 20 years to recover from the damage inflicted in the West Asia war.

“If we left right now, it would take Iran 20, 25 years to rebuild,” he said. “We’re not finished at all…we’re not leaving right now.”

-AFP