Iran has intensified attacks on shipping near the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf in a bid “to restore its leverage” over the critical route, according to a report published on Sunday.
Iran Steps up Attacks
Iran has launched more than a dozen strikes on shipping since the end of September, reported CNN, affecting tanker traffic and triggering a sharp drop in oil volume.
The 7-day moving average of transit calls briefly spiked after the U.S.–Iran Memorandum of Understanding in June, only to fall again once hostilities resumed, according to data from IMF Portwatch.
Obsidian Risk Advisors Managing Principal Brett Erickson said that these attacks could severely disrupt ship-to-ship transfers, used by the “shadow fleet” or “dark fleet” to bypass sanctions.
U.S and Iran at Loggerheads
The U.S. military continues to enforce a blockade on Iranian ports, while Washington insists that freedom of navigation in international waters must be protected.
Tehran remains dissatisfied with the U.S. proposal to end the war and restore shipping, calling the American response “insufficient.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the U.S. will keep targeting those who help Iran sell its oil as his department sanctioned 17 vessels that carry Iranian oil and petrochemicals to Asia.
The sanctions on oil exports have deepened Iran’s economic crisis, causing the national currency to lose half its value over the last year.
What do Crypto Punters Think?
Betting crowd on Polygon (CRYPTO: POL)-based Polymarket price in only a 7% chance that the traffic on the Strait of Hormuz returns to normal by the end of November, with a 15% possibility by the year end.
Similarly, the odds of a diplomatic agreement between Iran and Oman to control traffic in the critical shipping route by Nov. 30 have plunged to 25%, from 50% the week before.
Image via Shutterstock/ Below the Sky
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