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Tensions in the Iran-US-Israel conflict have intensified at sea after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed it struck a US oil tanker with a missile in the northern Persian Gulf on Thursday. Iranian state media reported that the vessel caught fire following the attack. The claim comes amid rapidly escalating hostilities in the region, including the reported sinking of an Iranian naval vessel earlier in the Indian Ocean. If confirmed, the development could significantly raise risks for global shipping and energy supplies moving through the strategically crucial Strait of Hormuz.

IRGC Claims Retaliation

According to Iran’s state-run Mehr News Agency, the IRGC said the strike on the tanker was carried out in response to what it described as American “aggression”.

The IRGC warned that military or commercial vessels belonging to the United States, Israel or European countries supporting them would not be allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz during the conflict.

It added that any such ships entering the area could be targeted.

The group also reiterated that during wartime Iran would exercise control over the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints connecting the Persian Gulf to international shipping routes.

Shipping Risks Rise

The alleged attack came hours after reports that a US submarine had torpedoed the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean.

The vessel was reportedly returning from the MILAN 2026 naval exercise hosted by India when it was struck. More than 100 crew members are feared to have died in the incident.

Iran’s IRGC described the sinking as an attack carried out “without warning” and framed the tanker strike as a tit-for-tat response.

So far, the United States has not confirmed the reported missile attack on the tanker. In previous instances, Washington has dismissed similar Iranian claims as misinformation.

However, analysts warn that if the strike is verified, the threat to commercial shipping in the Gulf could rise sharply.

Around 20 per cent of the world’s oil supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz, and several tanker incidents have already been reported amid the escalating confrontation.

Iran had earlier claimed it struck three US- and UK-linked tankers and declared the strait “closed”, although the United States has said its forces have severely degraded Iran’s naval capabilities in recent operations.