Saudi Arabia Intercepts Missile as Gulf Tanker Attacks Reach October Peak
Twelve incidents in the Strait of Hormuz mark the worst month for commercial shipping since 2017, according to new data.
By Harper Laurent ·
Security tensions in the Gulf escalated on 24 October as new maritime incidents coincided with a ballistic missile interception.
Saudi coalition forces announced they had destroyed a ballistic missile and a drone targeting the kingdom. The Directorate of Civil Defence warned residents in Riyadh, Najran, and Wadi al-Dawasir of potential danger before confirming the threat had passed minutes later. At sea, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy reported that two supertankers struck naval mines while navigating an unauthorised route south of the Strait of Hormuz. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations confirmed that a separate tanker was hit by an unknown projectile seven nautical miles from the Omani coast.
Data from a Washington-based think tank indicates that October is the worst month on record for attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and adjacent waters. The group has tracked these incidents globally since 2017. This surge in activity adds to the strain on regional logistics and insurance rates for vessels transiting the waterway.
Political rhetoric intensified between Washington and Tehran. US President Donald Trump stated at a rally in Florida that the United States might launch another military operation against Iran. In response, Major General Abdollahi, Iran’s armed forces chief of staff, declared that under no circumstances would the country allow rusting US warships to re-enter the Persian Gulf. Mohammed Mokhber, an adviser to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, characterized the threats from Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a sign of desperation rather than power.
Diplomatic movements continued alongside the military posturing. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is scheduled to visit Moscow next week. He is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and attend the Gas Exporting Countries Forum summit on 27 October. In London, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said Britain is redoubling its efforts to find diplomatic solutions to the conflict, noting that the situation is driving up bills for families in Britain.
The conflict also impacted the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces ordered Palestinian residents of Hebron to leave their homes on foot. Troops demolished several buildings near the site where two Israeli soldiers were shot dead and detained dozens of people during raids across the territory.
In Syria, protest rallies against repeated Israeli incursions in the country's south took place on Friday. The demonstrations followed an incursion earlier in the week that killed a man with a disability. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the time had come to reunify Libya's rival eastern and western administrations and hinted at a near-future announcement on the matter. In Israel, Netanyahu warned that the country should prepare for international banking sanctions and suggested cryptocurrency could help circumvent them, a statement made four days before the Knesset election.
