Why US-Iran war over Hormuz is threatening the Gulf’s waters

The United States-Iran war is increasingly being fought at sea, with both sides targeting oil tankers and other vessels in and around the Strait of Hormuz.On September 8, the US struck five Iranian oil tankers, provoking an Iranian attack on Jordan’s Al-Azraq airbase.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4How South Korea finds itself trapped in the US-Iran warlist 2 of 4Saudi-Houthi fighting in Yemen escalates: What happened, and what’s next?list 3 of 4BRICS summit may be the only place another Iran ceasefire can be builtlist 4 of 4Qatar says reopening Strait of Hormuz ‘unconditionally’ is a priorityend of listJust three days earlier, the US also hit three other Iranian tankers. Those strikes came after Iran launched ballistic missiles towards a US aircraft carrier and a navy destroyer near the Strait, according to US Central Command. Iran too subsequently said it had targeted three oil tankers travelling through what it called an “unauthorised route” in the Strait, as well as three US-linked vessels elsewhere.The tit-for-tat attacks have turned Hormuz into a potential environmental tinderbox. With tankers carrying millions of barrels of crude and petroleum products passing ...