In brief
Iran’s Ministry of Defence declared its ‘maximum deterrence’ plan ready for any new U.S. attack after an oil tanker was struck by unknown projectiles near the Strait of Hormuz. The strike was reported by UK Maritime Trade Operations and an earlier Iranian claim of ships hitting naval mines added to the escalating tensions. Saudi Arabia lifted early warning alerts and oil markets dropped to near four‑week lows.
Tehran has declared a maximum deterrence plan ready to react immediately to any new U.S. attack, officials said, following a report that an oil tanker was struck by two unidentified projectiles near the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera confirmed. The U.S. defence ministry’s update comes as Iranian forces reportedly expanded their target lists to include U.S. and Israeli assets across a wider region.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said the incident was the latest in a series of attacks on commercial vessels in the area. The strike occurred a few hours after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed that three ship‑borne entities exploded after hitting naval mines while crossing the strait with no permission, a story echoed by Al Jazeera and prompted an international call for investigation.
Al Jazeera also noted that Saudi civil defence lifted an early warning alert for Riyadh, signalling the kingdom’s alerting of possible escalation. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that $4 billion in aid to Israel would end this year, a figure that drew criticism from Israeli opposition leaders who blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for “another failure.”
Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, later cautioned that the reported deterrence plan did not establish a U.S. order to launch an attack, emphasizing that the Iranian government was preparing for any external aggressor. This analysis was published by Iranian state‑run media in a statement following the Qeshm strike.
Oil prices reacted to the mounting tension. Brent futures fell $1.17 to $103.60 a barrel, while WTI crude dropped 37 cents to $96.09 as markets weighed the latest Middle East developments and the possibility of peace talks to curb the conflict between the United States, Israel, and Gulf states.
