Tensions continued to escalate in the Strait of Hormuz Thursday as the Iranian military claimed it struck an oil tanker in the Persian Gulf, one of three commercial ships attacked on Thursday morning near the Strait of Hormuz, the critical maritime passage for the oil and shipping trades.
The Safesea Vishnu, sailing under the Marshall Islands flag, was one of two oil tankers struck on Thursday. The Iranian navy claimed responsibility for the attack.
Another oil tanker, the Maltese-flagged Zefyros, was also attacked in the Persian Gulf, according to Iraq's state oil company, which said both tankers were within Iraq's territorial waters when they were hit. Iran did not immediately claim responsibility for the strike on the Zefyros.
The attacks near the Strait of Hormuz came after three other commercial vessels were hit in the strait on Wednesday, two of which Iran claimed it targeted.
The increased military activity in the Strait of Hormuz has come just days after President Donald Trump warned Iran in a post on his social media site that if it attempts to "stop the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far."
In his first purported message since being named Iran's new supreme leader, which was read on Iranian state television, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei stressed on Thursday the importance of continuing the Iranian attacks in the Strait of Hormuz.
"The leverage of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must certainly continue to be used," stated a message read on Khamenei's behalf on state media. The new leader's father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a missile strike on the first day of the joint U.S.-Israel military operation in Iran.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Thursday that its Navy struck the Safesea Vishnu after the vessel "disobeyed and ignored warnings." The IRGC said the attack occurred as its navy was policing the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz to ensure ships "act in accordance with the laws and regulations" that Iran has enacted.
Videos verified by ABC News showed flames engulfing the Safesea Vishnu.
Iraq's State Oil Marketing Company said in a statement that it was using both the Safesea Vishnu and the Zefyros to transport oil through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
In a statement on Thursday, the IRGC said oil tankers and other vessels operating in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz should know that "in order to maintain their safety and security, they must act in accordance with the laws and regulations of passage in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz in war conditions declared by the IRGC."
A third ship was struck on Thursday morning off the coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) near the Strait of Hormuz, according to the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations Center (UKMTO), which did not provide further details. Iran has not claimed responsibility for that attack.
The violence came a day after three commercial cargo ships were struck in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran confirmed it struck two of the ships on Wednesday, the Express Room and the Mayuree Naree, alleging both vessels were "ignoring alerts and warnings from the IRGC Navy."
"Every vessel intending to pass must obtain permission from Iran," IRGC naval commander Adm. Alireza Tangsiri said in a social media post on Wednesday.
The Express Room, a container ship sailing under the Liberian flag, was struck by Iranian projectiles, the IRGC spokesperson said.
The Thai-flagged container ship Mayuree Naree was targeted for allegedly "ignoring alerts and warnings from the IRGC Navy and unlawfully insisting on transiting the Strait of Hormuz," according to the IRGC spokesperson.
Thai officials reported that three crew members were missing from the vessel following the attack.
The Japanese company, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines later said one of its vessels, the One Majesty, was hit and damaged on Wednesday while anchored in the Persian Gulf, about 60 miles outside the Strait of Hormuz, the Japan Times reported.
"The Strait of Hormuz is, without a doubt and without a moment's neglect, under the intelligent management of the brave naval forces of the IRGC. American aggressors and their allies have no right of passage," the Iranian spokesperson said.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) released videos showing attacks being carried out on Tuesday on what it described as "multiple Iranian vessels," including Iranian minelayers near the Strait of Hormuz.
"To date, we have struck more than 5,500 targets inside Iran, including more than 60 ships, using a variety of precision weapons systems," CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper said in a video post Wednesday.
While taking questions from reporters on Wednesday on the South Lawn of the White House before heading to an event in Kentucky, Trump said, "Look, we took out just about all of their mine ships in one night."
"We've knocked out their navy. We've knocked out their air force. We've knocked out all of their air defense," Trump also said.
When asked by a reporter if he's encouraging CEOs of various oil companies to use the Strait of Hormuz, Trump responded, “Yeah, I think they should. I think they should use the Strait."
Asked if there are any mines laid in the Strait of Hormuz, the president said, "We don't think so."
In a social media post on Tuesday, Trump said, "If Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz Strait, and we have no reports of them doing so, we want them removed, IMMEDIATELY!"
"If for any reason mines were placed, and they are not removed forthwith, the Military consequences to Iran will be at a level never seen before," Trump said in the post.
CENTCOM issued a warning to Iranian civilians on Wednesday to avoid all port facilities where it said Iranian naval forces are carrying out military operations along the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM said Iranian dockworkers, administrative personnel and crews of commercial vessels "should avoid Iranian naval vessels and military equipment.
"The Iranian regime is using civilian ports along the Strait of Hormuz to conduct military operations that threaten international shipping. This dangerous action risks the lives of innocent people," CENTCOM said in its warning.
A spokesperson for Iran's armed forces said Wednesday that if Iran's ports are threatened, "all ports and docks in the region will be our legitimate targets."
In an interview with the Iranian state television, Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi denied claims that the country's naval forces are hiding in economic ports, and threatened heavier operations if Iran's ports are targeted.
The chaos unfolding across the global economy stems in large part from the narrow but crucial waterway along the southern coast of Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz facilitates the transport of about one-fifth of the global supply of crude oil and liquid natural gas. Those products hold major implications for the prices of gasoline, plastics and European electricity, among a host of other goods.
The passage, which at its narrowest point is just 21 miles wide, is the only shipping route that stretches from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, making it a key travel hub for goods originating in oil-rich Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Iran.
Wednesday morning, the International Energy Agency said it would release 400 million barrels of oil from its strategic reserve, marking the largest oil release in the group's history as the global economy grapples with soaring oil prices in the wake of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, and traders fear a prolonged blockade of the maritime passage.
Before the war, roughly 20 million barrels of oil passed through the Strait or Hormuz each day, but tanker traffic has now "all but stopped," Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA, said at a press conference on Wednesday.