The Wall Street Journal reports, citing a U.S. official, that an Iranian drone struck an oil tanker carrying 2 million barrels of crude oil near the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. forces separately shot down two additional drones targeting commercial ships, according to the report.
The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday evening, citing a U.S. official, that an Iranian drone struck an oil tanker carrying approximately 2 million barrels of crude oil near the Strait of Hormuz during the same incident that the desk has tracked from its earliest unverified reports. U.S. forces separately shot down two additional Iranian drones targeting commercial vessels in the area, according to the report.
This attack developed rapidly through the day. At 12:40 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported unverified explosions heard in the strait (version 2); within the same hour, security channel Abu Ali Express cited a merchant ship struck by a projectile off Oman (version 4), and the UKMTO confirmed a tanker was attacked (versions 3 and 5). An analyst assessed that the U.S. likely understands the Iranian message behind the strike (version 6). The WSJ report now adds the precise cargo size (2 million barrels) and the downing of two additional drones by U.S. forces, corroborating the earlier FOX News report Friday that two Iranian drones were intercepted after an attempted strike on ships in the strait.
The attack fits a pattern of Iranian drone activity against commercial shipping in the strait, which carries roughly a fifth of global oil trade. As The Zioneer has reported, CENTCOM has intercepted multiple Iranian drone salvos in recent weeks — including on Saturday June 13 at 09:07 Jerusalem (suicide drones targeting commercial ships) and June 7 at 04:51 Jerusalem (two drones threatening shipping lanes). Background material shows a June 5 single-source report of a U.S. seizure of an oil tanker and Iranian missile response at warships, and a June 26 Trump statement asserting Iran struck a merchant ship.
It remains unclear from the draft and thread whether the 2-million-barrel tanker struck Saturday is the same vessel hit in the earlier reported incidents or a fresh attack. No casualty or damage details have been released by the U.S. or any shipping source.
7 developments
- DevelopingCargo ship reportedly struck by Iranian drone in Strait of Hormuz, official tells CNN
- DevelopingUS shot down two Iranian drones after attempted strike on ships in Hormuz, Fox News reports
- StrongTrump says Iran struck a merchant ship in the Strait of Hormuz, US intercepted three drones
- StrongUS official says Iranian drone attack on Bahrain used two UAVs, one hit airfield
Source and signal
- Internal intake