The prior 24 hours – stretching from Friday back into Thursday – had seen Iran announced no less than four recent attacks on international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, mostly through alleged sea mines.
The fourth claimed attack is the one raising eyebrows and getting most attention, given a tanker was reporteldy disabled by limpet naval mines. This method has not been used by the Iranians in the seven-month long war until now.
If accurate, it would be hugely signficant – given a new tactic in Iran’s arsenal since the start of Operation Epic Fury – as the last reported limpet mine attack in regional waters was in 2019.
“A UAE-owned crude oil tanker was damaged by limpet naval mines late on Thursday night, a UK-based maritime monitoring agency reported, suggesting a potential shift in tactics by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as it struggles to inhibit shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” regional news source Al-Monitor writes.
“The M/T Louise-1 was disabled while transiting the Strait of Hormuz after two limpet mines that had been attached to its hull above the waterline by attackers aboard a small boat detonated, causing a fire in its engine room after 10 p.m. local time, the UK Maritime Trade Organization (UKMTO) monitoring agency said. The Louise’s crew was unharmed, the agency reported,” it adds.
So far the main attack methods have included drones and sea mines. But this limpet mine attack would have involved a small fastboat going right up to the hull of the tanker.
These are typically relatively small magnetic explosives that must be affixed to a ship by hand. The incident further suggests that even if all of Iran’s coastal weapons sites are taken out by US strikes, the Iranians can strike so long as IRGC fastboats remain active.
Meanwhile, there are ongoing signs of a Trump-ordered US military build-up in the Middle East. The White House has been signaling potential renewed major combat against Iran after the midterm elections, which are just days away. Could we witness bombs away again by the close of next week?
Israel’s Channel 14’s English-language account on X on Friday reported that over the prior 48 hours an “unprecedented US military airlift has swept across the Middle East.”
At least ten heavy transport aircraft arrived in Israel “alongside roughly 80 aerial refueling tankers.” Additionally some military assets are said to be withdrawn from Gulf ‘frontline’ areas in anticipation of likely Iranian retaliation in the event of a US attack on the Islamic Republic.
