Israel-Iran conflict live updates: Disruption is already evident, with tankers avoiding spending more time than needed in the strait, industry sources said read more

The Israeli military has confirmed that its air force has launched a series of airstrikes on western Iran, marking its first direct strikes since the US attack on Iranian nuclear facilities. In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces said the Israeli Air Force (IAF) targeted “military sites in western Iran,” including missile launchers poised to fire at Israeli territory and Iranian armed forces personnel.

“The concerns of retaliation and this war escalating are huge. Closing the Strait of Hormuz would be extremely dangerous and not good for anybody,” Kallas told reporters ahead of a meeting with EU foreign ministers.

European Commission President Kaja Kallas on Monday warned that Iran’s potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz would be “extremely dangerous” and harmful to all sides.

Local media reports indicate that medics are responding to a missile strike in the Ashdod area of southern Israel. So far, no injuries have been reported.

Iran has launched around 15 ballistic missiles towards Israel, with several making impact, according to The Times of Israel.

“The explosions you are hearing are from interceptions or fallen projectiles,” the IDF said in a statement.

Israel’s emergency service Magen David Adom has deployed teams to reported impact sites following a new wave of missile attacks launched from Iran, CNN reported.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi is currently in Moscow for talks with President Vladimir Putin, according to Reuters.

He added that Iran expects Russia to play an active mediating role between Tehran and Washington amid the ongoing conflict.

Tehran follows international law and confines its operations to “specific and legitimate military targets,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday.

“A short while ago, sirens sounded in several areas in northern Israel following the identification of missiles launched from Iran toward the State of Israel,” a military statement said, adding in another statement about 10 minutes later that people were allowed to leave shelters.

Sirens sounded in several areas of northern Israel on Monday, after the army reported a fresh barrage of Iranian missiles, at least the third salvo in less than two hours.

The strikes, conducted by remotely piloted aircraft, targeted airports located in Tabriz, Tehran-Mehrabad, Mashhad, Hamedan, Dezful, and Shahid Bakhtiari. According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the operation focused on runways, underground hangars, a refuelling aircraft, and specific Iranian Air Force assets, including F-14 and F-5 fighter jets and AH-1 attack helicopters.

The Israeli military said Monday (June 23) it struck six Iranian airbases across the country in a coordinated assault that destroyed 15 fighter jets and attack helicopters, as tensions between the two regional adversaries continued to escalate.

While it has continued to fire missiles at Israel, Iran has yet to take action against the United States itself, either by firing at U.S. bases or by targeting the 20% of global oil shipments that pass near its coast at the mouth of the Gulf.

“Mr Trump, the gambler, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to end it,” Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya central military headquarters, said on Monday in English at the end of a recorded video statement.

“The aggressor attacked the Fordo nuclear site again,” Tasnim news agency reported, quoting a spokesperson for the crisis management authority in Qom province where the site is located.

Israel carried out a fresh strike on Iran’s underground Fordo nuclear site south of Tehran, a media outlet in the country reported.

To be able to “return to the negotiating table”, “allow IAEA inspectors, the guardians on our on behalf of the NPT to go back to Iran’s nuclear sites and account for the stockpiles of uranium” including the “400 kilograms enriched to 60 percent”, Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told an emergency meeting of the organisation’s headquarters in Vienna.

“Any Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz would be extremely dangerous,” Kaja Kallas wrote on X, as EU foreign ministers met in Brussels for talks with the Iran-Israel conflict high on the agenda.

The EU’s top diplomat warned Monday it would be “extremely dangerous” should Iran shut down the crucial Strait of Hormuz trading route over US strikes on its nuclear sites.

“Any Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz would be extremely dangerous,” Kaja Kallas wrote on X, as EU foreign ministers met in Brussels for talks with the Iran-Israel conflict high on the agenda.

The EU’s top diplomat warned Monday it would be “extremely dangerous” should Iran shut down the crucial Strait of Hormuz trading route over US strikes on its nuclear sites.

These strikes hit a power supply system in the Iranian capital, triggering outages in some areas around the city. The power distribution line in northern Tehran “was damaged, causing outages in some areas”, Fars news agency reported.

The Israeli military “is carrying out strikes of unprecedented force against regime targets and agencies of government oppression in the heart of Tehran”, the country’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, said on Monday.

In a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, the Kremlin said the two leaders “expressed concern about the emerging risks to global energy markets and emphasised the importance of continuing active cooperation within the OPEC+ format.”

These command centers have significant military effect and additionally they impact the regime’s ability to impose control. Striking these military targets harms the Iranian regime’s military capabilities,” IDF said in a statement.

Additionally, the Alborz Corps, responsible for the security of several cities in the Tehran District from various threats and for maintaining the regime’s stability, was struck, along with the Intelligence and General Security Police under the Internal Security Forces, which also forms part of regimes military forces.

As part of the strike, the headquarters of the Basij was targeted. The Basij is one of the IRGC’s central armed bases of power. Alongside its other fuctions, it is also responsible for enforcing the Islamic law and reporting civilians who violate it to the regime authorities.

These forces consist of various corps and command centers, and are responsible, on behalf of the Iranian regime’s military, for defending the homeland security, suppressing threats, and maintaining the regime’s stability.

“A short while ago, the Israeli Air Force fighter jets, guided by precise intelligence from the IDF Intelligence Directorate, struck command centers and assets belonging to the Internal Security Forces and the IRGC in Tehran, Iran.

Najafi said that Iran reserves its right to self-defense. “As long as the source of the threat persists, the Islamic Republic of Iran will continue to undertake the necessary, resolute and proportionate measures to neutralize it at the time, place and manner of its own choosing.”

Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Reza Najafi, condemned the “unprecedented act of aggression” against Iranian nuclear facilities by Israel and the U.S. and said that this act “delivered a fundamental and irreparable blow” to the international non-proliferation regime, including the framework of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Najafi was speaking to reporters at an emergency meeting of the U.N. nuclear watchdog board that addressed the situation in Iran.

It added that all resources had been deployed to manage the complex and the situation remained “under control”.

“In the latest attack by the Zionist regime on Tehran, projectiles unfortunately struck Evin prison, causing damage to parts of the facility,” said the judiciary’s Mizan Online website.

“The topic of Iran itself was repeatedly discussed by the presidents during their recent conversations,” Peskov told reporters.

He also noted that Iran has been a recurring subject in recent talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and former U.S. President Donald Trump.

“We have stated our position. This is also a very important manifestation, a form of support for the Iranian side,” he said.

Peskov added that Russia has openly declared its stance on the Iran-Israel war, calling it an important form of support for Tehran.

“Everything depends on what Iran needs,” Peskov said in response to a question at a briefing. “We have offered our mediation efforts. This is concrete.”

Russia is ready to help Iran in various ways, depending on what Tehran requests, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday.

Evin also has specialized units for political prisoners and those with Western ties, run by the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which answers only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The facility is the target of both U.S. and European Union sanctions.

Evin prison is known for holding dual nationals and Westerners often used by Iran as bargaining chips in negotiations with the West.

It shared what appeared to be black-and-white-surveillance footage of the strike. Iranian media speculated the strike may be from a drone.

“These forces consist of various corps and command centers and are responsible, on behalf of the Iranian regime’s military, for defending the homeland security, suppressing threats, and maintaining the regime’s stability,” it said in a statement.

Israel’s military said Monday it was striking command centres of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards and other domestic security forces responsible for “maintaining the regime’s stability”.

The United States has officially dragged itself into the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict, with President Donald Trump announcing that the US has successfully struck three Iranian nuclear facilities. The sites involved in the American attack were Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan.

“Russia is today on the right side of history and international law,” said Araghchi.

Araghchi told Putin that Iran was conducting legitimate self-defence, and thanked Russia for condemning the U.S. actions. He conveyed best wishes to Putin from Iran’s supreme leader and president.

“I am very glad that you are in Moscow today, this will give us the opportunity to discuss all these pressing issues and think together about how we could get out of today’s situation.”

“For our part, we are making efforts to assist the Iranian people,” he added.

“The absolutely unprovoked aggression against Iran has no basis and no justification,” Putin told Araghchi in televised comments.

Putin hosted Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Moscow two days after U.S. President Donald Trump sent U.S. bomber planes to strike Iran’s three main nuclear sites.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Iran’s foreign minister on Monday there was no justification for the U.S. bombing of his country and that Moscow was trying to help the Iranian people.

A new leader will still be chosen for his devotion to the revolutionary precepts of the Islamic Republic’s late founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, according to one insider, who is close to Khamenei’s office and privy to succession discussions.

The ruling establishment will immediately seek to name a successor to Khamenei if he is killed, to signal stability and continuity, according to the sources who acknowledged that predicting Iran’s subsequent political trajectory was difficult.

Khamenei, 86, is being regularly briefed on the talks, according to the Iranian sources who requested anonymity to discuss highly sensitive matters. He has gone into hiding with his family and is being guarded by the Vali-ye Amr special forces unit of the Revolutionary Guards, a top security official said.

A three-man committee from a top clerical body, appointed by Khamenei himself two years ago to identify his replacement, has accelerated its planning in recent days since Israel attacked Iran and threatened to assassinate the veteran leader, five insiders with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters.

A military statement said Israeli forces had “struck in order to obstruct access routes to the Fordo enrichment site” which US President Donald Trump stated had been “totally obliterated” by the US strikes.

These included Evin prison — “which holds political prisoners and regime opponents” — as well as the command centres of the domestic Basij militia and the powerful Revolutionary Guards, he added.

The Israeli military “is carrying out strikes of unprecedented force against regime targets and agencies of government repression in the heart of Tehran”, Defence Minister Israel Katz wrote on X as the Iran-Israel war raged for an 11th day.

Israel targeted Tehran’s notorious Evin prison as well as the command centres of security agencies in Iran responsible for “maintaining the regime’s stability”, a minister and the military said Monday.

“This strike is completely irresponsible. Cecile, Jacques and all the prisoners are in mortal danger,” Noemie Kohler told AFP.

It is located in a northern district of the Iranian capital.

Most are held in Evin, a large, heavily fortified complex notorious among activists for rights abuses.

Overall, Iran is believed to hold around 20 European nationals in what some Western governments describe as a strategy of hostage-taking aimed at extracting concessions from the West.

Cecile Kohler has been held along with her partner Jacques Paris in Evin since May 2022 on espionage charges their families reject.

Iran’s judiciary said Israeli strikes left sections of the facility damaged and Israel’s defence minister confirmed the army was targeting it.

An Israeli strike on Evin prison in Tehran on Monday is completely irresponsible and puts prisoners “in mortal danger”, said Noemie Kohler, the sister of French national Cecile Kohler who is jailed there.

It said parts of the prison had been damaged, without elaborating. Video footage showed a gate being blasted open at the site.

“The situation in the prison is under control and all means have been used to manage the prison complex,” the judiciary announced via its Mizan news agency.

The situation at Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison is under control, Iran’s judiciary said, following an attack by Israeli forces.

The Coswisdom Lake was scheduled to load crude at Zirku for delivery to China. It was chartered by Unipec, a trading arm of China’s state-run Sinopec, LSEG and Kpler data showed.

The South Loyalty, also a VLCC, made a similar U-turn and remained outside the strait on Monday, LSEG data showed. It was scheduled to load crude from Iraq’s Basra terminal, according to Kpler data and two shipping sources.

The Coswisdom Lake, a very large crude carrier (VLCC), reached the strait on Sunday before making a U-turn and heading south, Kpler and LSEG data showed. On Monday it turned back again, resuming its journey towards the port of Zirku in the United Arab Emirates.

Singapore-based Sentosa Shipbrokers said that over the past week, empty tankers entering the Gulf are down 32% while loaded tanker departures are down 27% from early May levels.

Disruption is already evident, with tankers avoiding spending more time than needed in the strait, industry sources said.

Washington’s decision to join Israel’s attacks on Iran has stoked fears that Iran could retaliate by closing the strait between Iran and Oman through which around 20% of global oil and gas demand flows.

At least two supertankers made U-turns at the Strait of Hormuz following U.S. military strikes on Iran, shiptracking data shows, as more than a week of violence in the region prompts vessels to speed, pause, or alter their journeys.

During the meeting, Putin condemned the strikes as “unjustified” and said Moscow was working to support the Iranian people amid rising regional tensions.

Two days after US President Donald Trump ordered airstrikes on three of Iran’s main nuclear facilities, Russian President Vladimir Putin met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Moscow on Monday.

Power supply was restored Monday to northern Tehran after outages caused by an Israeli air raid earlier in the day, local media reported.

The Israeli military said in a statement that the targets belong to Iranian forces “responsible… for defending the homeland security, suppressing threats, and maintaining the regime’s stability”.

The targets included Evin prison, which Katz said “holds political prisoners and regime opponents”, as well as command centres of the domestic Basij militia and the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Loud explosions rocked the Iranian capital, where Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military hit “regime targets” with “unprecedented force”, adding to speculation that Israel may seek to topple Iran’s clerical leadership.

Iran, in turn, fired missile barrages at Israel and vowed retaliation against the United States after it struck the Islamic republic’s nuclear sites a day earlier.

Israel hit Revolutionary Guard sites and the notorious Evin prison in Tehran on Monday, calling them its most powerful strikes yet on the Iranian capital on the 11th day of the war.

And crude oil from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and Iran almost exclusively passes through the corridor.

Around 14.2 million barrels of crude oil and 5.9 million barrels of other petroleum products pass through the strait per day — representing around 20 percent of global production in the first quarter, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Around 84 percent of oil passing through the Strait of Hormuz is destined for Asia, leaving the economies of China, India, South Korea and others vulnerable should Iran blockade the crucial trading route over US strikes on its nuclear sites.

“While we consider this (American) attack as a result of the Israeli regime’s strategic failure to achieve its objectives, we won’t tolerate it. We will definitely give a response that would make gambler Trump regret taking the act of aggression against our dear country,” he said.

Condemning recent U.S. military strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, Qalibaf characterized the action as a sign of direct American involvement in the conflict following Israel’s setbacks.

Qalibaf also mentioned that Parliament is reviewing a bill to suspend Iran’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) unless Tehran receives what he described as tangible guarantees of the agency’s professional conduct.

He referred to a religious decree issued by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution prohibiting the use of nuclear weapons and stated, “Iran has no plans for non-peaceful activities, but the world witnessed clearly that the IAEA has not honoured any of its commitments and has turned into a political instrument.”

During a Monday session of Parliament, Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf reiterated that Iran’s nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes.

President Donald Trump said the U.S. had “obliterated” Iran’s main nuclear sites in strikes over the weekend, joining an Israeli assault in an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East as Tehran vowed to defend itself.

“We are advising vessels operating in the area to exercise maximum caution and providing them with latest information,” he said, adding that their vessels have also been instructed to minimise the time in the Gulf.

“We will make decisions on each vessel’s passage through the Strait of Hormuz on a flexible basis,” he added.

“We are instructing our vessels to shorten their time in the Persian Gulf whenever possible, depending on their schedules,” a Nippon Yusen spokesperson said.

The shipping companies said they are closely monitoring the situation and sharing updates with ships operating in the region.

Japan’s Nippon Yusen and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines said on Monday they have instructed their vessels to minimise the time spent in the Gulf as they continue to transit the Strait of Hormuz following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

“There is no reason to criticise what America did at the weekend. Yes, it is not without risk. But leaving things as they were was not an option either,” Merz said in a speech to the Federation of German Industries.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday that there was “no reason to criticise” the United States over its strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran.

The IAEA has not been able to carry out inspections in Iran since Israel started its military strikes on nuclear facilities there on June 13.

“At this time, no one, including the IAEA, is in a position to have fully assessed the underground damage at Fordow,” Grossi said in a statement to an emergency meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors.

The United States dropped the biggest conventional bombs in its arsenal on Iranian nuclear facilities on Sunday, using those bunker-busting munitions in combat for the first time to try to eliminate sites including the Fordow uranium-enrichment plant dug into a mountain.

U.S. bombing probably caused “very significant” damage to the underground areas of Iran’s Fordow uranium enrichment plant dug into a mountain, though no one can yet tell the extent, U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Monday.

After the U.S. strikes in Iran, security officers at all U.S. embassies and consulates had been instructed to conduct reviews of their post’s security posture and report back to the State Department by late Sunday. It wasn’t immediately clear if that was connected to the alert.

Qatar, across the Persian Gulf from Iran, is home to Al Udeid Air Base, which hosts the forward headquarters of the U.S. military’s Central Command. Iran has threatened American forces at Al Udeid in the past, but not after Sunday’s strike, though state television has mentioned American bases in its broadcasts.

“We would like to reassure the public that the security situation in the State remains stable,” he added.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari later put out a statement saying that advisories from foreign embassies “do not necessarily reflect the existence of specific or credible threats.”

The embassy did not elaborate, nor did it respond to multiple requests for comment from The Associated Press on the message, which comes as tensions are high in the Middle East after the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday.

The U.S. Embassy in Qatar issued an alert on its website Monday urging American citizens in the energy-rich nation to “shelter in place until further notice,” although Qatar later said the situation was “stable.”

This Week in Explainers: What did the US target in Iran? And how?

“The president would not have launched the strikes if we weren’t confident in that,” she said.

Leavitt also said the administration has a “high degree of confidence” that enriched uranium was stored at the sites that were attacked by the U.S.

She was definitive about the outcome of U.S. strikes, saying they “took away Iran’s ability to create a nuclear bomb.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told ABC News on Monday morning that Iran was an “imminent threat” and Donald Trump is the “first president with the guts to actually do something about it.”

“If the Iranian regime refuses to come to a peaceful diplomatic solution, which the president is still interested and engaging in, by the way, why shouldn’t the Iranian people take away the power of this incredibly violent regime that has been suppressing them for decades?” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News.

Donald Trump thinks Iranians should overthrow their government if it refuses to negotiate on its nuclear program, but the US president is “still interested” in diplomacy, the White House said Monday.

“The spy entered the country disguised as a tourist and continued the mission of networking, gathering information, and disrupting offensive and missile systems in Iran,” it added.

State television cited judicial authorities as saying that a spy for Israel was arrested in the western province of Hamadan, adding that the “spy is a citizen of a European country”, without elaborating.

Iranian authorities arrested on Monday a European national on suspicion of spying for Israel, state TV reported, as fighting raged between the foes for the 11th day.

“When it comes to NATO’s stance on Iran’s nuclear programme, allies have long agreed that Iran must not develop a nuclear weapon,” said Rutte ahead of a NATO summit in The Hague.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stressed on Monday that Tehran should not be allowed to have a nuclear bomb, as the war between Israel and Iran entered its 11th day.

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Israel and Iran’s air war entered a second week on Friday and European officials sought to draw Tehran back to the negotiating table after President Donald Trump said any decision on potential US involvement would be made within two weeks.

Iran has launched a fresh wave of attacks against Israel, with missiles targeting the southern city of Beersheba, where a hospital was struck yesterday. The air strikes reportedly hit a tech park in the city and fires were reported near a Microsoft office.

Meanwhile, Israeli air attacks have killed 639 people in Iran, said the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Those killed include the military’s top echelon and nuclear scientists. Israel has said at least two dozen Israeli civilians have died in Iranian missile attacks. Reuters could not independently verify the death toll from either side.

British, German and French foreign ministers will meet their Iranian counterpart Abbas Argachi in Geneva for nuclear talks, in a first diplomatic sit-down between Europe and Iran as Trump weighs US involvement.

Israel has targeted nuclear sites and missile capabilities, and sought to shatter the government of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to Western and regional officials.

“Are we targeting the downfall of the regime? That may be a result, but it’s up to the Iranian people to rise for their freedom,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping both condemned Israel and agreed that de-escalation is needed, the Kremlin said on Thursday.

The role of the United States remained uncertain. Lammy also met Trump’s special envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, on Thursday in Washington, and said they had discussed a possible deal.

With inputs from Reuters

Summary

Companies Companies instructing vessels to limit time in strait

Shiptracking data shows at least five tankers turning away

The strait is on vital Gulf oil shipping route

SINGAPORE/LONDON, June 23 (Reuters) – At least two supertankers made U-turns near the Strait of Hormuz following U.S. military strikes on Iran , shiptracking data shows, as more than a week of violence in the region prompts vessels to speed, pause, or alter their journeys.

Washington’s decision to join Israel’s attacks on Iran has stoked fears that Iran could retaliate by closing the strait between Iran and Oman through which around 20% of global oil and gas demand flows.

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That has spurred forecasts of oil surging to $100 a barrel. Both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude hit fresh five-month highs on Monday in choppy trade as investors weighed the potential risks to supply.

Shipping rates for supertankers, which can carry 2 million barrels of oil, have also soared, more than doubling in a week to over $60,000 a day, freight data shows.

The Coswisdom Lake, a very large crude carrier supertanker, reached the strait on Sunday before making a U-turn and heading south, Kpler and LSEG data showed. On Monday it turned back again, resuming its journey towards the port of Zirku in the United Arab Emirates.

The South Loyalty, also a VLCC, made a similar U-turn and remained outside the strait on Monday, LSEG data showed. It was scheduled to load crude from Iraq’s Basra terminal, according to Kpler data and two shipping sources.

The Coswisdom Lake was scheduled to load crude at Zirku for delivery to China. It was chartered by Unipec, a trading arm of China’s state-run Sinopec (600028.SS) , opens new tab , LSEG and Kpler data showed.

Sinopec did not respond to a request for immediate comment.

Singapore-based Sentosa Shipbrokers said that over the past week, empty tankers entering the Gulf are down 32% while loaded tanker departures are down 27% from early May levels.

A map showing the Strait of Hormuz is seen in this illustration taken June 22, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File photo Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

CHANGING COURSE, PAUSING There have also been changes to how tankers are navigating the area, with a cluster of them sailing closer to Oman , while mainly Iranian-flagged vessels use Iran’s local waters, shiptracking data on the MarineTraffic platform showed on Monday. The chemical tanker Kohzan Maru was sailing towards the strait before changing course to remain in the Gulf of Oman. The oil tanker Red Ruby and chemical carrier Marie C were also sailing towards the strait before opting to drop anchor off the UAE port of Fujairah, the data showed.

Coswisdom Lake is bound for Zirku port in Abu Dhabi to load crude, but had to make a u-turn to wait outside the Strait of Hormuz first on June 22 for its turn to berth

All three en route for loadings.

Shipowners are trying to minimise time that vessels spend inside the Strait of Hormuz due to the conflict, KY Lin, spokesperson at Taiwan’s Formosa Petrochemical Corp, said on Monday. “Vessels will only enter the region when it is nearer to their loading time,” he said.

Several oil traders and analysts told Reuters that they had been warned to expect possible shipping delays as vessels wait for their turn outside the area.

“Diversifying sources of supply and shipping routes and learning from past disruptions like the Red Sea are critical,” said Leon Alexander, partner at global law firm Clyde & Co.

Iran’s parliament on Sunday approved a measure to close the strait, Iran’s Press TV reported, but any such move would require approval from the Supreme National Security Council.

Iran has threatened to close the strait in the past but has never done so.

Reporting by Siyi Liu and Trixie Yap in Singapore and Jonathan Saul in London; editing by Tony Munroe and Jason Neely

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SINGAPORE/LONDON (June 23): At least two supertankers made U-turns near the Strait of Hormuz following US military strikes on Iran, shiptracking data shows, as more than a week of violence in the region prompts vessels to speed, pause, or alter their journeys.

Washington’s decision to join Israel’s attacks on Iran has stoked fears that Iran could retaliate by closing the strait between Iran and Oman through which around 20% of global oil and gas demand flows.

That has spurred forecasts of oil surging to US$100 a barrel. Both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude hit fresh five-month highs on Monday in choppy trade as investors weighed the potential risks to supply.

Shipping rates for supertankers, which can carry two million barrels of oil, have also soared, more than doubling in a week to over US$60,000 (RM256,920) a day, freight data shows.

The Coswisdom Lake, a very large crude carrier (VLCC) supertanker, reached the strait on Sunday before making a U-turn and heading south, Kpler and LSEG data showed. On Monday it turned back again, resuming its journey towards the port of Zirku in the United Arab Emirates.

The South Loyalty, also a VLCC, made a similar U-turn and remained outside the strait on Monday, LSEG data showed. It was scheduled to load crude from Iraq’s Basra terminal, according to Kpler data and two shipping sources.

The Coswisdom Lake was scheduled to load crude at Zirku for delivery to China. It was chartered by Unipec, a trading arm of China’s state-run Sinopec, LSEG and Kpler data showed.

Sinopec did not respond to a request for immediate comment.

Singapore-based Sentosa Shipbrokers said that over the past week, empty tankers entering the Gulf are down 32% while loaded tanker departures are down 27% from early May levels.

Changing course, pausing

There have also been changes to how tankers are navigating the area, with a cluster of them sailing closer to Oman, while mainly Iranian-flagged vessels use Iran’s local waters, shiptracking data on the MarineTraffic platform showed on Monday.

The chemical tanker Kohzan Maru was sailing towards the strait before changing course to remain in the Gulf of Oman. The oil tanker Red Ruby and chemical carrier Marie C were also sailing towards the strait before opting to drop anchor off the UAE port of Fujairah, the data showed.

All three en route for loadings.

Shipowners are trying to minimise time that vessels spend inside the Strait of Hormuz due to the conflict, KY Lin, spokesperson at Taiwan’s Formosa Petrochemical Corp, said on Monday. “Vessels will only enter the region when it is nearer to their loading time,” he said.

Japanese shipping firms Nippon Yusen and Mitsui OSK Lines said on Monday they continue to transit the strait but have instructed their vessels to minimise time spent in the Gulf.

Several oil traders and analysts told Reuters that they had been warned to expect possible shipping delays as vessels wait for their turn outside the area.

“Diversifying sources of supply and shipping routes and learning from past disruptions like the Red Sea are critical,” said Leon Alexander, partner at global law firm Clyde & Co.

Iran’s parliament on Sunday approved a measure to close the strait, Iran’s Press TV reported, but any such move would require approval from the Supreme National Security Council.

Iran has threatened to close the strait in the past but has never done so.