Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Friday they struck an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, according to state news agency IRNA, as a British maritime agency also reported an attack.
Iran has maintained its stranglehold on the strategic strait as Washington continues pressing its counterblockade of Iranian ports during the Middle East war.
The Islamic Republic wants to charge ships for passage, attacking vessels it accuses of attempting to circumvent its preferred route.
“The Togo-flagged oil tanker ‘Trend’ had been targeted and detained after a fire broke out on board” late on Thursday, the statement said, calling it an attempted “illegal passage”.
Early on Friday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said a ship was hit by an “unknown projectile”, causing a fire that was extinguished.
The monitoring agency had also reported a “security incident” in Hormuz late on Thursday, without giving details.
It was unclear if the IRGC and UKMTO reports referred to the same incident.
Italian aircraft hit during air base attacks in Saudi Arabia
An Italian aircraft was hit during air base attacks in Saudi Arabia, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto announced Friday.
Crosetto noted he followed the situation in Saudi Arabia’s Ta’if air base, “which was the target of several attacks and where Italian personnel are present as part of Operation Inherent Resolve,” according to ANSA news agency.
He reaffirmed that no Italian military personnel were involved.
“During the attack, an Italian F-2000 aircraft was hit. It was inside the base, in a remote area. There is no other damage to vehicles or infrastructure used by our personnel,” Crosetto said.
He noted that he asked to be provided with further assessment of the evolving situation, the condition of their personnel and possible operational options.
Crosetto added that he had been reassured that all security measures to protect military personnel had already been put in place some time ago.
“The situation is being followed with the utmost attention, with the aim of ensuring the full protection of our personnel and operating with the necessary responsibility,” Crosetto further said.
Shipping traffic via Strait of Hormuz stays below 10-day average, data shows
Four commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf on Thursday, down from six a day earlier and below the 10-day average of about 16, preliminary shipping data showed on Friday.
The figures could change as some ships typically switch off their transponders during the voyage to avoid the risk of detection in the conflict zone.
Of the four vessels, three were entering the strait heading into the Gulf and one was exiting, the data from shiptracker Kpler showed at 0200 GMT.
The vessels included two Panamax tankers, one Supramax ship and one Kamsarmax vessel.
The waterway carried a fifth of the world’s oil and gas before the Iran conflict.
Meanwhile, 23 commodity vessels transited the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Thursday, another maritime chokepoint on the southwest tip of Yemen and a vital trade route for oil between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The data showed 13 vessels heading towards the Red Sea and 10 towards the Gulf of Aden. They included a Panamax and a Suezmax tanker, four Supramax vessels and six Aframax tankers.
The number compares with an average of around 26 ships using the strait in the past 10 days.
The Iran-backed Houthis have seized Yemen’s entire Red Sea coastline since last week, prompting the Saudi Arabian air force to conduct airstrikes.
The spread of the war to Yemen and Saudi Arabia has raised new concerns about oil supplies by jeopardising the Red Sea route for exports, the main alternative for Gulf supplies while traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is constrained.
Yemeni army says 30 Houthis killed in clashes west of Taiz
Yemen’s army said on Friday that 30 Houthi fighters were killed and more than 60 others were wounded in 24 hours of clashes and airstrikes in the Al-Waziyah district west of Taiz.
A military source quoted by the Armed Forces Media Centre said Yemeni warplanes also struck Houthi vehicles and gathering points in the clash zone.
The army said earlier that its air force hit Houthi supply lines and deployment points in Taiz and in the Red Sea city of Mocha.
Government forces also said they previously repelled Houthi attacks in Taiz and struck the group’s positions and reinforcements. The army has stepped up strikes on Houthi sites in several provinces in recent days, with Taiz among the main fronts.
Drones fly over Yemen’s Sanaa, Houthis fire anti-aircraft guns
Drones were seen flying over Yemen’s capital Sanaa on Friday as the Houthi group fired anti-aircraft weapons to shoot them down, Yemeni residents told Anadolu.
The residents said they spotted drones flying over several neighbourhoods, including Saawan and Al-Hasaba in the northeast of the city.
The Houthi anti-aircraft fire caused explosions and sparked fear among residents, they added.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s independent Belqees news website also reported that “explosions, air defence fire and gunshots were heard early Friday in the capital Sanaa.”
The website quoted residents as saying that “the sounds of explosions and gunfire did not stop, causing fear and concern among residents, with the reasons remaining unclear.”
It also cited Houthi-affiliated media outlets and social media accounts as saying that the group’s “air defence systems were activated to counter drones flying heavily” over Sanaa.
The Houthis did not immediately comment on the incident, while the identity of the drones and the party that launched them was not immediately clear.
Italy ready to escort ships through Bab el-Mandeb without waiting for EU, says defence chief
Italy is prepared to act independently to ensure its merchant vessels can pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait rather than wait for an EU naval mission, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said on Thursday.
Read: US State Department approves $24.3 billion F-35 sale to Saudi Arabia
Crosetto said he had instructed military officials to assess the security situation and prepare a plan to guarantee safe passage through the strategic Red Sea waterway, according to Italian news agency ANSA.
“Together with the chief of General Staff, we have decided not to wait for (EU Red Sea Operation) Aspides to decide whether ships can pass or not,” he said at the Risorsa Mare Forum in La Spezia, a northern coastal city.
Crosetto said Italy would likely take steps allowing its ships to resume transit without waiting for European procedures, arguing that delays would further hurt the economy.
The Italian frigate Bergamini is currently in the African nation of Djibouti, while around a dozen Italian-flagged or Italian-owned merchant vessels are seeking escorted passage, ANSA reported.
Crosetto said authorities are also examining whether existing rules allow Italian military assets already deployed in the region to be temporarily placed under national command or whether fresh parliamentary authorisation would be required.
“When a sea route is interrupted, goods arrive late, costs increase, and prices for families and businesses mount,” he said.
Tanker hit by unknown projectile in Strait of Hormuz, fire extinguished, crew safe, UKMTO says
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said on Friday a tanker was hit by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, causing a fire that has since been extinguished, with all crew reported safe and the environmental impact unconfirmed.
UKMTO WARNING 138-26
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— UKMTO Operations Centre (@UK_MTO) September 18, 2026
Iran says it struck Togo-flagged tanker in Strait of Hormuz
Iran said on Thursday it struck a Togo-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz after the vessel attempted what it called an “illegal passage.”
In a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said the ship had been “incited and deceived” by the US military and then hit as it sought to cross the waterway overnight.
“Last night the offending tanker Trend, flying the flag of Togo, intended to pass illegally through the Strait of Hormuz after being incited and deceived by the child-killing American army,” the statement said. “It was struck and stopped after a fire broke out.”
The IRGC Navy said its sailors still held the strategic channel and would block any force it described as an aggressor.
It repeated a warning to shipowners and crews. “Illegal passage through the Strait of Hormuz will achieve nothing other than the destruction of the offending vessel,” the navy said.
There was no immediate independent verification of the reported strike, the fire, or the tanker’s status. The statement did not provide information about the cargo, the crew, possible injuries, or whether the vessel was still afloat. US military officials did not immediately comment on the latest claim.
Saudis and Houthis exchange strikes, Yemenis flee by boat as Middle East war spreads
Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthis exchanged fresh strikes across their border on Thursday, and Yemenis took to boats in the Red Sea to escape fighting, as the spreading Middle East war created new threats to global oil supplies.
Read more: ‘Anything could happen’: Trump says ‘big decision’ incoming regarding Iran
Houthi-controlled television reported Saudi airstrikes in Hajjah province close to the Saudi border near the Red Sea coast, and in the vicinity of Taiz further inland to the south.
Saudi Arabia’s civil defence said a Yemeni living in Saudi Arabia had been killed by debris from a drone intercepted over the western city of Taif, the first death Riyadh has announced in Houthi attacks since fighting escalated last week. It has previously said more than 80 people were wounded.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy said a Togo-flagged oil tanker caught fire after being hit while attempting what it called an ‘illegal passage’ through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media reported. The tanker came to a halt after the fire, the Guards Navy said.
The spread of the war to Yemen and Saudi Arabia has raised new concerns about oil supplies by jeopardising the main alternative Red Sea route for Gulf exports while traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains constrained.
US President Donald Trump has rebuffed pleas from the Saudis for military support to fight the Houthis, who agreed a ceasefire with the United States last year after Washington bombed the group for two months.
The president faces the prospect of political losses for his Republican Party in November’s midterm elections, partly because of higher energy prices since the United States and Israel attacked Iran in February.
Trump said on Thursday he is approaching a critical juncture over whether to restart massive attacks on Iran.
“I have a big decision coming up. Do I want to go in and annihilate them or do I not? It’s a big decision. Anything could happen with me,” Trump said in an interview with Axios.
Trump has in the past threatened major new attacks that have not materialised.
Global crude prices eased slightly on Thursday but remain well above $100 a barrel after reaching their highest levels since May. The average US retail diesel price hit a record high on Thursday, just shy of $6.40 a gallon.
The United States and Iran have held no negotiations to end the war since an interim agreement reached in June collapsed within weeks. But the war will come up for discussion at the United Nations General Assembly next week, and an Iranian delegation will be able to attend, according to the US State Department.
‘The sea was frightening’
The fighting has driven Yemeni civilians to flee across the Bab el-Mandeb — Arabic for “Gate of Tears” — the narrow strait at the mouth of the Red Sea.
In Djibouti on the African shore of the Red Sea, Wahida Omer, 50, reached land after crossing on a small boat from Yemen when her village of Dhubab came under attack as the Houthis swept into the area. Her husband had been left behind, and she had no idea if he was alive, dead or captured by the Houthis.
“The sea was frightening, difficult,” she said in an interview filmed by the International Organisation for Migration. Those on the boat were “crying the whole way, and we arrived still crying” with nothing to eat.
The IOM says more than 100,000 Yemenis have been displaced by the latest fighting, mostly within Yemen.
The Houthis, who have seized Yemen’s entire Red Sea coast since last week in a lightning advance, say the Saudi Air Force has conducted hundreds of airstrikes in recent days. On Wednesday, the Houthis said they had shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet.
“We want the Saudis to cease their blockade and occupation of our country, and to stop their aggression against us. This is our demand!” Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said in a televised speech, seated with a traditional dagger in his belt. Slogans on the wall behind him read: “Death to America, death to Israel, a curse upon the Jews, victory for Islam.”
The US Navy is trying to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz, the outlet to the Gulf along Iran’s coast, where a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas passed before the war, and is also imposing a blockade of Iranian ports.
Iran says the strait is closed and will remain shut until Washington lifts the blockade. It is seeking an agreement with neighbouring Gulf states that would let it collect fees from ships passing through the strait.
