Updated

Iranian forces have sharply increased attacks on commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz in mid-October 2026, with the IRGC Navy claiming to have struck multiple tankers in just days, including a third 'offending' supertanker, while two container ships reportedly sank after missile strikes and another vessel caught fire in a restricted zone. Iran's military has declared the strait effectively closed, insisting any passage requires coordination with Iranian forces, and has threatened to sink approaching US warships. A Reuters investigation separately found that earlier Iranian strikes on Gulf water plants, airports, refineries and a nuclear power station were deliberately targeted rather than accidental. Analysts say the surge appears timed to exploit US restraint ahead of the American midterm elections, aiming to disrupt a recovery in Gulf oil shipments and pressure Washington. The escalation raises fears of a wider confrontation over one of the world's most critical oil chokepoints and threatens global energy markets already strained by the broader Iran-Israel-US conflict.