Iran and US Trade Blows in Biggest Shipping Attack Since War Began

Iran and the US have engaged in their biggest wave of attacks on shipping since the start of the war, which has now lasted six months. The conflict saw Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attack 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz after the US sank five Iranian oil tankers overnight. This move sent the price of oil surging, with benchmark Brent crude futures breaching $100 a barrel for the first time since July.

At least one seafarer was reported killed and another listed as missing in the attacks. The IRGC has warned that it will sharply escalate its response to further US attacks, hitting 20 targets if the enemy strikes two or three. Iran is also set to release maps of a new off-limits zone at sea that would extend as far as Chabahar on the Iranian coast near Pakistan.

US President Donald Trump said Tehran is trying to influence the November midterm elections, which will determine whether his Republican Party retains control of Congress. The US military's Central Command called its attacks a response to Iran's Revolutionary Guard targeting a U.S. Navy vessel.