World · Middle East · 5 hrs ago
Iran says US-assisted oil shuttle through Strait of Hormuz is a target
Iran has threatened to disrupt an oil-shipping system that helps Gulf states move exports through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei said the system uses smaller vessels, with US military assistance and help from the United Arab Emirates, to transfer oil to larger tankers.
He said Iran had been striking some vessels involved, though the account gives no independent confirmation of that claim.
The strait is a key global shipping route, and about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas passed through it before the war.
Shipping there has been heavily disrupted since US and Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28, while a US naval blockade of Iran’s southern ports is in place.
Rezaei also threatened US-linked digital infrastructure in the UAE and around the strait.
Iran says it will pursue military and diplomatic pressure until its demands for reopening the strait are met; the sources do not describe a confirmed next step or agreement.
Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei said a US-assisted oil shuttle through the Strait of Hormuz is now an explicit target for Tehran.
Rezaei claimed the United States and the United Arab Emirates were using smaller vessels to transfer oil to larger tankers.
He said Iran had been striking five or six participating vessels each night for weeks, though the article attributes this claim to him.
The shuttle has enabled Gulf states to export oil and other commodities as shipping through the strait has been largely closed.
Rezaei also threatened US-linked cables, data centres and artificial intelligence facilities in the UAE and around the strait.
- Who
- Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei made the threat. The targeted shuttle is described as involving the US military and the United Arab Emirates.
- What
- Iran said the oil shuttle through the Strait of Hormuz is a target. Rezaei claimed Iran had been striking participating vessels.
- When
- Rezaei spoke on Sunday night; the article was published on October 12, 2026. He said the attacks on participating vessels had continued nightly for weeks.
- Where
- The Strait of Hormuz and nearby routes, including corridors near Oman.
- Why
- Tehran says it is seeking to pressure Washington over its demands regarding reopening the strait. Rezaei accused the US and UAE of moving oil despite Iran’s restrictions.
Iran
United States and United Arab Emirates
Control of the strait
Iran
Rezaei asserted that the strait is under Iran’s control.
United States and United Arab Emirates
The shuttle system has enabled Gulf states to export oil and other commodities through the strait.
The oil transfers
Iran
Rezaei described the transfers as smuggling and said Iran was targeting participating vessels.
United States and United Arab Emirates
The US Navy reportedly opened a route for Gulf states to export oil and other commodities.
The United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, after which the strait was largely closed to shipping following Iranian attacks.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened tankers at ports and anchorages in Kuwait and Bahrain, citing US attacks on Iranian tankers.
Rezaei claimed Iran had been striking five or six vessels participating in the shuttle each night.
Rezaei said the shuttle system was an explicit target for Tehran.
- Publication date
- October 12, 2026
- Strait of Hormuz
- Roughly a fifth of global oil and gas flowed through it before the war
- Iranian claim
- Five or six participating vessels struck nightly for weeks
- Shuttle participants
- US military and United Arab Emirates military, according to Rezaei
- Threatened infrastructure
- US-linked cables, data centres and artificial intelligence facilities in the UAE and around the Strait of Hormuz
What people are saying
You are smuggling, but the strait is under Iran’s control, and we manage it
The question, however, is whether Tehran is overestimating its ability to sustain this pressure, given the growing economic costs of the confrontation for Iran itself
Sources
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