Iran and the United States inflicted the largest strikes on shipping since the beginning of the conflict

Iran said it attacked 10 vessels near the Strait of Hormuz after the US sank five Iranian oil tankers. This was the largest wave of retaliatory strikes on shipping from both sides since the beginning of the war, the correspondent of the Minsk-Novosti news agency reported.

Photo from open Internet sources is illustrative

According to Reuters, the US military struck Iranian tankers in response to two missile attacks by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on a US Navy warship. Washington said the U.S. sailors were not injured and posted videos of Iranian ships burning.

In response, the IRGC said it had hit two American ships and eight tankers. According to sources, the Hercules Star oil tanker was attacked off Dubai, and the New Andros tanker with 2 million barrels of fuel oil caught fire in Iraqi waters. Iran has also threatened tankers in Kuwait and Bahrain.

In addition, the IRGC fired ballistic missiles at a US force base in Jordan. The air defense of this country intercepted 18 of 20 missiles, without casualties.

The IRGC has also vowed to dramatically step up its response to any further attacks and will soon publish a map of the larger no-go zone at sea, all the way to the Arabian Gulf near the Iranian port of Chehbahar.

Amid the escalation between the U.S. and Iran, the situation has escalated in Yemen, where Iran-backed Houthis have struck four Saudi cities, sparking massive fires at oil facilities. According to Saudi authorities, 73 people were injured. Riyadh launched retaliatory airstrikes on Houthi positions.

The attacks caused a jump in the price of Brent crude oil, for the first time since July they exceeded the mark of $ 100 per barrel.