Oil prices soar as U.S. insists Strait of Hormuz open despite ongoing attacks
The Pentagon insists the Strait of Hormuz is open, but the threat to shipping is increasing, along with oil prices.
A U.S. missile strike hit the Iranian island of Larak in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, according to Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency, which is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
"At 2:48 pm, the island of Larak was targeted by an American missile," Tasnim reported, saying residents heard a loud explosion there.
"The competent authorities are currently carrying out an investigation to determine the scale of the attack, the exact point of impact and the extent of the potential damage," it added.
The IRGC said in their statement Wednesday that on Tuesday night, "despite attempts by the crews of those vessels, no ship dared attempt passage through the unlawful southern route of the Strait [of Hormuz]," referring to a path through the waterway the U.S. has encouraged vessels to use to avoid Iranian tolls.
Pakistan's government on Wednesday said it was "deeply concerned" by Iran's attempts to pull Saudi Arabia into the Middle East war, and it condemned threats by Yemen's Houthi rebels against the kingdom and Red Sea shipping.
Pakistan, which cemented its security ties with Riyadh with a mutual defense pact signed only last year, said it was "deeply concerned over attempts to drag the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia into the conflict in the Middle East and reiterates its unwavering support for the security, sovereignty, territorial integrity and prosperity of the brotherly Kingdom," in a statement from the foreign ministry posted on X.
The statement added that "any hostile act against Pakistani-flagged vessels or Pakistani maritime interests will be regarded as a grave threat to Pakistan's national security and sovereign interests."
The Joint Maritime Information Center in Bahrain, a military partnership that the U.S. is part of, said commercial traffic in the Strait of Hormuz fell to a three-week low Tuesday amid ongoing Iranian attacks on vessels. CBS News tracked just three commercial ships – two cargo vessels and the Chinese-owned tanker Hsin Ocean – transiting the strait on Tuesday.
Between July 13 and 19, only two ships transited the strait using the U.S.-backed "southern route" that hugs the coast of Oman. Both transits were dark, meaning the vessels had turned off their AIS broadcast systems, according to a Lloyd's List analysis.
Last week, Dimitris Maniatis, CEO of the Greek maritime risk management company Marisks said ship crews were unwilling to make the trip through the strait since the breakdown in the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding.
"There's nothing physically obstructing the navigation of any vessel willi
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