A tanker was struck by projectiles off the coast of Qatar on Wednesday, according to a report from UK Maritime Trade Operations, a rare attack deep inside the Persian Gulf.
The vessel was hit north of Madinat ash Shamal, at the emirate’s tip. Casualties were reported, and authorities are now investigating, UKMTO said, without identifying the ship or saying who was responsible.
It’s the first reported strike on a tanker deep within the gulf in about a month. On Sept. 9, UKMTO said a vessel was hit by an unknown projectile about 28 nautical miles southeast of Al-Faw, Iraq. Most of the attacks since then have been concentrated in or around the Strait of Hormuz.
The strike comes as the conflict between Washington and Tehran heats up once again. The White House has asked the Pentagon to draw up attack options against Iran that could be executed before the midterm elections in the US, the Atlantic reported, citing two administration officials. The size and targets of the potential strikes, and whether the administration will proceed, are still being debated, according to the report.
Iran has also increased the pace of attacks on ships in Hormuz, with UKMTO — an organisation that provides a link between commercial shipping and the military — reporting nine attacks in the waterway so far this month. That’s about half of the amount reported in the whole of September, an uptick that coincides with recovering oil traffic.
The strike on Wednesday highlights the risk of more attacks extending beyond Hormuz as fighting spreads elsewhere in the Middle East. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels claimed hits on airports in Riyadh and Abha in Saudi Arabia this week that killed three people and injured dozens, as fighting intensifies between the group and Saudi-backed forces in Yemen.
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