U.S.–Iran War Expands: Fresh Attack on Ship in Hormuz, Lebanon Drawn Into Conflict

A ship was struck while transiting the Strait of Hormuz early Sunday morning, sparking a fire and forcing the crew to evacuate, The Wall Street Journal reports. The attack adds pressure on global energy corridors already shaken by Houthi strikes on Saudi energy infrastructure last week and the attack on the key Saudi–west pipeline, which the Kingdom said came from Iraq.

The U.S.–Iran conflict is expanding into new regions: according to the newspaper, it has already ignited a new war in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah and drawn in Iraqi militias that had stayed out of three years of regional warfare. Iranian officials have said the war will not end and shipping routes will not reopen until all regional conflicts are resolved — while Gulf states are realizing the United States has pulled them into a conflict that could last for years with no clear strategy to end it.

Pressure is mounting on Washington too. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called President Trump last week hoping to draw the U.S. into the war against the Houthis; the president replied that the U.S. would help “with everything except strikes,” according to people familiar with the call. The U.S. has provided intelligence and targeting assistance and sent dozens of military advisers, while Admiral Brad Cooper, head of the Central Command responsible for the Middle East, traveled to Saudi Arabia to show support. On Saturday, Trump told reporters the Houthis had asked the U.S. not to intervene and that the situation would be resolved.

International Energy Agency data shows the toll: Saudi oil exports from its main Red Sea port fell to about 2.5 million barrels per day in August, from 4.6 million in July, while oil production dropped to 6 million barrels a day in August compared with an average of about 9.4 million barrels last year. With both major energy corridors under the influence of Iran and its allies, the U.S. is trying to avoid opening a second front in the war — but the Houthis are not cooperating.

Source: Wall Street Journal