US Refutes Iranian Claim Of Attack On US Vessel In Strait Of Hormuz

Iran said on Sunday it had struck an unmanned U.S. vessel that tried to enter the Strait of Hormuz, but the U.S. military dismissed the claim as a “total lie,” according to the Associated Press.

The purported attack came a day after the U.S. military said its forces had struck three Iranian oil tankers in response to attacks by Iranian forces on U.S. Navy warships with ballistic missiles.

The war began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28. But since a fragile ceasefire agreement was announced in June, sporadic fighting has persisted, with both sides seeking to inflict military and economic damage as negotiations have collapsed.

The United States and Iran resumed attacks last week after a month of relative calm, with the Strait of Hormuz and areas along Iran’s southern coast again coming under fire.

At least five people were killed earlier in the week during a U.S. bombardment that drew renewed attention to the area, where a school was hit in the opening strikes of the war.

The Trump administration appears to have adopted a two-pronged approach to the conflict, responding militarily to attacks around the strait while targeting foreign financial institutions that handle Iranian funds.

But Tehran’s hard-line new senior leaders have signaled a willingness to dig in after weathering decades of sanctions.

Iran has found ways over the years to circumvent sanctions and, despite a U.S. blockade of its ports, continue shipping its oil to buyers to ease mounting economic pressure. Much of that trade relies on a so-called shadow fleet of tankers that transport Iranian oil.

Tehran’s latest leverage centers on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital passage for global oil and natural gas shipments. The strait was regarded as an international waterway before the war began.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Sunday that an average of 9 million barrels of oil a day was moving through the strait, which he said should help ease pressure on energy prices.

His estimate appeared to exceed average flows over the previous 28 days through the strait, according to TankerTrackers.com and other sources.

Wright told CNN that, with oil also flowing through pipelines in the region, “we’re probably two-thirds or more of pre-conflict flows.”

Those flows, however, depend on the presence of the U.S. Navy to escort tankers and provide protection against possible Iranian attacks.

Wright said he expected other countries eventually to support the Navy’s efforts.