Three Vessels Cross Strait of Hormuz Amid US Strikes on Iran and Bahrain Downing Iranian Drones

Only three commodity vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, the fewest daily transits since May, according to shipping data reported by @AJEnglish. Most ships halted or made U-turns after recent Iranian attacks on vessels and the resumption of a US blockade on Iran-related shipping.

Miraan, a sanctioned product tanker carrying fuel oil, and Norita, carrying liquefied petroleum gas, exited the strait via the Iranian route but stopped at the Gulf of Oman, Kpler data showed.

Arolia, a bunkering tanker laden with Iraqi fuel oil, made a U-turn to head back into the Gulf after exiting earlier, LSEG data showed. Bahrain’s armed forces said its air defence systems intercepted and destroyed a number of hostile Iranian aerial attacks on July 17.

“Iran has continued its aggressive approach by carrying out cowardly attacks targeting civilians in the Kingdom of Bahrain,” the military said in a statement.

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported that the death toll from overnight US air attacks on infrastructure across several provinces rose to eight, with 20 others injured. Iran separately stated that 38 people have been killed and more than 400 injured in US attacks since the June 22 ceasefire talks in Switzerland.

Iran has been restricting passenger train departures from Bandar Abbas station due to US attacks on a railway point in the Hormozgan region, Iranian media reported.

The UK police charged 39-year-old Vahid Aberi with a National Security Act offence for assisting Iran’s intelligence service. Aberi, a resident of Liverpool, was arrested on Wednesday in the Birmingham area and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday, July 17.