00:00Music
00:20The Strait of Hormuz is once again at the center of a dangerous escalation.
00:25Multiple explosions have reportedly been heard across the strategic waterway as claims emerge that Iran has fired six anti-ship
00:33missiles at vessels attempting to transit the strait under U.S. protection.
00:38The reported targets were vessels using the southern Omani side route, a passage Tehran has repeatedly warned ships against using
00:47without Iranian authorization.
00:48The missile attack claims are still being independently verified, but the reports are already raising fears of another major confrontation
00:57at one of the world's most critical shipping choke points.
01:01Iran's Persian Gulf Waterway Authority has also issued a warning to ship owners, accusing some charterers of forcing vessels onto
01:10unauthorized routes.
01:12In a striking development, at least one vessel's owners reportedly sent an apology to Iranian authorities, saying the ship's transit
01:21was carried out following direct and compulsory instructions from its charterer.
01:26But the missile reports are not the only concern.
01:30There are also claims that Iran's Revolutionary Guard is attempting to deploy small naval mines into the strait using Fajr
01:38-5 rockets.
01:39That tactic could pose a serious threat to commercial shipping, because free-floating mines can be difficult to detect and
01:47could force vessels to slow down, reroute or halt transit altogether.
01:53Iran has previously demonstrated a Fajr-5-based system capable of dispensing a small, floating sea mine, while the United
02:02States has already targeted Iranian preparations linked to mine deployment.
02:06The latest reports therefore point to a potentially wider battle for control of the waterway, involving missiles, mines, warnings and
02:16competing claims over which shipping routes are legally authorized.
02:20And with commercial traffic through Hormuz already dramatically reduced compared with pre-war levels, any confirmed attack on U.S.
02:29protected vessels could further raise the risks for global shipping and energy supplies.
02:34For now, the reported six-missile strike and the alleged mine deployments remain unconfirmed.
02:41But if independently verified, the developments would mark another serious escalation in the battle over the strait.
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