An oil tanker sailing off Qatar reported having been hit by “multiple projectiles”, which made an undetermined number of victims on board, according to the UKMTO Maritime Safety Agency.
© AFP/ Getty Images
07/10/2026
by
Lusa
O incident occurred 51 nautical miles (94 kilometers) off the coast of this small Gulf State, detailed the agency.
The flow of oil through the Strait of Ormuz has risen in recent weeks to levels close to those before the conflict in Iran, which responded to the attacks from February on the closure of this essential route for the disposal of energy exports from the Persian Gulf countries and attacking vessels crossing.
The Islamic Republic claims control of this strategic passage, through which one fifth of world hydrocarbons transited, before the war triggered in late February by attacks by the United States and Israel against Tehran.
Iran now demands that ships wishing to cross it obtain an authorisation on their part, and those not complying are subject to attack.
In response, U.S. forces imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports while escorting oil tankers — more and more — across the strait, with negotiations to end the war at a standstill.
The region's monarchies are thus able to export increasing volumes of crude: by the end of September, they reached prewar levels, according to data from the Kpler monitoring platform.
To date, neither Iran nor US forces have spoken about the latest attack on navigation in the region.
The head of American diplomacy, Marco Rubio, said today, during the official visit to Athens, that “Iran has lost full control” of the Strait of Ormuz.
“There is now almost as much oil circulating as there was before the beginning of this conflict. They therefore lost full control of the strait,” said Marco Rubio at a joint press conference with his Greek counterpart, George Gerapetritis.
Rubio added that the Iranians “are much less militaryly powerful.”.
While Washington recently strengthened economic pressure on Tehran, the U.S. Secretary of State considered that, due to “the devastating sanctions,” the Iranian economy is “prest to achieve a situation that few countries in the world have known.”.
“ It will become catastrophic”, he concluded.