The hell of trying to cross Hormuz: three more cargo ships attacked

A journey through hell continues to be the trend for those who dare to try to cross the Strait of Hormuz. This is what the Iranian regime had promised, alluding to the capacity of its Navy to lay mines or bomb any vessel that defies the closure to which they have subjected the route that accounts for 20% of the flow of oil and natural gas worldwide. This is the economic counterattack to the .

This Wednesday, the image in Hormuz has once again responded to that promise of the “hallway of fire.” Up to three cargo ships have been subject to attacks, for the moment, of unknown origin, although Tehran had been warning that it would set fire to vessels that tried to evade the blockade. With some ups and downs, as it left the door open for US partners in the region to use the route. An option for “any Arab or European country that expels Israeli and American ambassadors from its territory.”

In this sense, and with a total balance of 14 maritime transport vessels attacked since the beginning of the , three vessels have been attacked with projectiles. Two of them transport grain – another key trade in the region – while a third carries maritime containers. The first vessel attacked ended up in flames, in a fire that could be put out without environmental damage, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Office (UKMTO). All crews are safe and sound.

Cargo ships attacked today

The US claims to have destroyed 16 Iranian minelayer ships

Yesterday, Tuesday, the US Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, and the US president himself, Donald Trump, promised that it would be the most intense day of attacks against Iran in the last 10 days, after having warned a day before that they would strike with “20 times greater” force if Tehran continued to attack in the Strait of Hormuz. The , where the Trump Administration is going back and forth and incurring numerous .

With a -in November they ring midterm and part of the Congress and the Senate will be renewed, where the Republicans have a majority -, Trump tries to send messages that calm the markets – the price of a barrel of Brent -, such as the statements in which he indicates that it will be or his latest statement about Hormuz.

Having promised to destroy the Iranian Navy, he has also threatened Tehran to remove any explosives installed in the maritime area. “If Iran has placed mines in the Strait of Hormuz, and we have no reports that they have done so, we want them removed,” he posted on his network, Truth Social. Along these lines, Trump has made it clear that the experience acquired with the extrajudicial murders of alleged drug boats in South American and Caribbean waters – the operation Southern Spear– is the method with which they will “permanently eliminate any ship or vessel that attempts to mine the Strait of Hormuz.”

Subsequently, Trump published another message in which he listed a dozen minecraft vessels – from ships to boats – from Iran that had been destroyed. This morning, the Pentagon updated that figure, increasing it to 16. It is relevant because until now, and in the maritime field, the US had destroyed an Iranian warship that was out of ammunition – unarmed – having been participating in naval exercises with other countries such as India or Sri Lanka.

In addition, today is also marked by another controversy, following the deletion of a publication related to Hormuz, by the Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, who published yesterday in X that the US Navy had successfully escorted an oil tanker through the waterway. This elimination is controversial because it would demonstrate that Washington has acceded to a request from the oil industry that the Navy has been denying, alleging that it is dangerous in the current war context.