Iranian missiles hit UAE tankers in Hormuz, killing a crew member
The United Arab Emirates said on July 13 that two of its oil tankers were hit by Iranian cruise missiles in Omani waters near the Strait of Hormuz, killing one Indian national among the crew and wounding eight others. It is the first reported fatality aboard a commercial tanker since the maritime standoff resumed, marking a step up from earlier drone attacks that had caused damage but no confirmed deaths.
The strike came as US Central Command launched a third consecutive night of strikes on Iranian coastal surveillance, drone and missile assets, hours before a reinstated US naval blockade of Iranian ports was due to take effect. The US said it struck and disabled an Iranian ship using unmanned surface “drone boats” — the first such attack in the campaign — while Iran’s military said it had struck and disabled two “rogue supertankers” in response.
Roughly a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil passes through the strait, and both Washington and Tehran now claim the right to control transit. The civilian death raises the stakes for the Gulf states whose vessels and waters are caught between the two, and adds pressure on crews and insurers to avoid the passage even as the US insists it remains open.