Iran Steps Up Monitoring of Hormuz: Attacks Escalate, Oil Flows Fall Again

Ships in the Strait of Hormuz Have Faced the Worst Wave of Attacks Since the War Began.

Iran's military has announced it has expanded its surveillance of the Strait of Hormuz by deploying new units to target ships, amid a frustrating tussle between Tehran and Washington for control of the waterway, which is among the world's most important passages for transporting energy.

With the US naval blockade on Iran's southern ports and the tightening of sanctions, Tehran has repeatedly said it will pursue military and diplomatic efforts to pressure Washington to give in to its demands to reopen the strait.

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The end of the list Tehran's latest announcement coincides with an increase in waterway attacks and a drop in oil transit after crude oil flows returned to pre-war levels in September.

Chris Featherstone, a political scientist at the University of York in Britain, told Al Jazeera that the increase in attacks and their impact on energy flows shows the fragility of the strait as a key route for oil exports.

What is happening now and who controls the Strait of Hormuz?

What has Iran said about expanding its presence in Hormuz?

The Navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran deployed its operational units after identifying the oil tanker that was located east of the Strait of Hormuz and above the Oman Sea and the Arabian Sea. According to a report on Tuesday, Press TV news channel and documentary news channel reported that it was damaged and caught fire.

The Navy said the units would "maintain real-time surveillance of enemy activity and maritime traffic in the area."

He also warned the ships not to turn off their transmitters and asked them to coordinate with Iran's armed forces for safe passage through the region.

According to the official, the strategy includes a change in the type as well as the pace of the attacks, with one goal of influencing the outcome of the November midterm elections in the United States.

Ships in the Strait of Hormuz have experienced the worst wave of attacks since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran in late February.

According to maritime tracking firm Kpler, 10 tankers were hit in the strait between September 28 and October 4, followed by another attack on October 5.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations Center (UKMTO) separately recorded a further 15 attacks between October 6 and 14, 11 of which occurred in the last four days alone. UKMTO said these included a container ship and an oil tanker that were hit by unidentified projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.

Iran believes that its attacks and restrictions on the waterway are a matter of national security and self-defense in response to the American-Israeli war. Iranian officials have also announced plans to disrupt the US-backed shuttle system that has enabled more energy exports through the strait.

The US Navy-led Joint Maritime Intelligence Center (JMIC) noted in its latest report on Sunday that the threat to merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz remains "severe", the second highest level.

Attacks by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, "attempts, and/or harassment activities including drone flights, targeted surveillance of commercial vessels and occasional VHF continued," JMIC said.

UAV stands for unmanned aerial vehicle or unmanned aerial vehicle, while Darud VHF refers to Iranian forces using standard marine radio to verbally contact, track and intimidate transiting merchant ships on international communication channels.

Before the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran on February 28, the Strait of Hormuz typically handled 125 large commercial ships a day, and cargoes through it accounted for about 20 percent of the world's supply of crude oil and liquefied natural gas.

In retaliation for the US and Israeli attacks, Iran has effectively closed the strait and has increased its attacks on ships that try to violate its regulations. Meanwhile, Washington has also maintained the blockade of Iranian ports.

However, in September, Gulf oil flows from Hormuz, excluding Iran, recovered to more than 81 percent of pre-war levels, while crude exports from the broader Middle East exceeded pre-war levels on 14 days during the month, according to Kepler. More and more oil tankers shepherded by the US Navy had begun to pass through.

The threat from Iran meant the ship's crew was paid huge bonuses, insurance rates were still very high, and some analysts suspect that Gulf states may have paid Iran to allow tankers to pass. This meant that while more oil was being exported from the region, crude prices remained high.

But the increase in Iran's attacks in recent days has changed the equation. According to Kepler, only 2.9 million barrels of oil were shipped by waterway on Oct. 11, the lowest level for the month. As of October 8, nearly 20.8 million barrels of oil passed through this strait. The pre-war average was 17.1 million barrels per day.

Oil prices continued to rise on Wednesday morning, with Brent crude up 89 cents, or 0.8 percent, at $106.58 a barrel by 00:30 GMT. Brent futures closed at $105.69 a barrel on Tuesday, while West Texas Intermediate was at $94.14.

The official noted: After Washington destroyed many of Iran's radar capabilities, the IRGC has begun using unarmed trackers on small boats to identify potential targets, including US Navy vessels.

The official stated that the US military has determined that Iranian observers operate from ships and send targets to the IRGC, adding: US forces confronted one of these vessels and told its occupants that they had abandoned the ship and then destroyed it.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) has also rejected the IRGC commander's statement that Tehran controls the Strait of Hormuz and sinks approaching US warships.

"The Commander in Chief of the Navy does not have a Navy. US forces and regional partners clearly control the Strait of Hormuz.

US forces helped their partners in the Persian Gulf ship more than 19 million barrels of crude oil through the strategic staging point on Monday, the military command added.

Since Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz after the war began, the U.S. Navy has reportedly opened a route for Gulf states to export oil and other goods amid an energy crisis caused by Iranian shipping attacks.

Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran's security, claimed on Sunday night that the US Central Command, with the help of the United Arab Emirates military, uses smaller ships to transfer oil to larger tankers.

He said the US shuttle system was an obvious target for Tehran, and that Iran had been targeting five or six participating ships every night for weeks.

He emphasized: "You are smuggling, but this strait is under the control of Iran and we manage it."

It appears to be a taunt to US President Donald Trump, who in recent weeks has welcomed energy exports at times to pre-war levels.

Iran has claimed that the US has accepted some of its seven conditions to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war, but Washington's response has been "inadequate". Tehran insists that the agreement will be realized only when all its demands are met.

The Trump administration has not moved to continue negotiations and has not sought more help from potential interlocutors, such as Qatar and Pakistan, said York University political scientist Stackris Featherstone.

"For Iran, they may see this as a point to increase pressure on the Trump administration."

But he pointed out that this strait is not under Iran's control and Tehran's attacks only try to show that Washington does not control the waterway either.