Iran says it will block routes it deems illegal in the Strait of Hormuz as weekly tanker attacks reach their highest level since the Iran war began in February 2026.
WEBDESK — MEDIABITES — Iran has signaled an imminent crackdown on shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, as tanker attacks in the waterway surged to their highest weekly count since the Iran war began.
A senior adviser to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Mohammadreza Naqdi, told Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency on Wednesday that Tehran would soon shut transit routes it deems illegal. Naqdi described these pathways along Oman’s southern coastline as routes “created by blasting rocky passages” and used for oil smuggling.
“The Strait of Hormuz is closed, and the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran have full control over it. This situation will continue until Iran’s legitimate demands are met,” he said.
The announcement comes as maritime security sources confirmed that the week of September 28 to October 5 recorded at least 12 attacks on oil, LNG and LPG tankers around Hormuz. That is the highest number of attacks in any single week since the war began on February 28, when the United States and Israel killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a Tehran airstrike.
The US Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Center said IRGC activity, including drone overflights, surveillance and VHF radio hailing, continued to demonstrate “Iran’s intent to assert presence along key transit lanes and maintain pressure on transiting vessels.”
Despite the escalating attacks, Gulf crude exports briefly topped pre-war levels in September, with a seven-day moving average of 18.3 million barrels per day recorded on September 30, according to shipping data firm Kpler. However, analysts caution that sustained higher flows remain uncertain given ongoing harassment by Iran.
In the latest incident, India’s foreign ministry confirmed that 12 crew members were injured after an unidentified projectile struck the Panama-flagged tanker On Peace while transiting the strait.
The IRGC has consistently rejected claims that US Navy operations are helping restore normal shipping flows through Hormuz, with another adviser stating that daily ship transits have fallen from a pre-war average of 125 to just 10.
