Indiscriminate Attacks and "Control Zones" Send Global Oil Prices Soaring

[Anchor]

The United States and Iran are engaged in a fierce battle in the Strait of Hormuz, targeting both oil tankers and commercial vessels indiscriminately. As gunfire continues along Middle Eastern oil export routes, international oil prices have hit a four-month high.

Gwak Sang-eun reports.

[Reporter]

A scrambled tugboat continuously sprays water onto a large oil tanker.

A massive hole is blasted into the hull of the tanker.

On the morning of the 9th local time, a fire broke out on the Panama-flagged oil tanker New Andros while it was passing through Iraqi territorial waters carrying 2 million barrels of fuel oil.

It is reported to have been hit by a drone attack.

A British Royal Navy organization stated that multiple vessels were attacked and rendered inoperable in the northern Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

Iran claimed to have attacked a total of 20 vessels on the 9th, including U.S. Navy warships, oil tankers, and commercial ships.

This is the largest scale since the outbreak of the war.

[Iranian State Television: The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responded to the aggression and malicious acts of terrorist U.S. forces who attacked five Iranian oil tankers.]

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to expand its control zones to parts of the Sea of Oman and the Arabian Sea.

On the 10th local time, successive explosions were heard in areas such as Sirik and Minab in southern Iran, and Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, which are presumed to be retaliatory attacks by the U.S. military.

Over the past two days, Saudi Arabia launched 54 airstrikes against the pro-Iran Houthi rebels in Yemen who tried to block the Red Sea, an alternative oil transport route, but reports emerged that the Houthis seized Mocha, a strategic port city near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the entrance of the Red Sea.

As both the Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb major oil export routes face risks, Saudi Arabia's crude oil exports in August plunged to 3.2 million barrels per day, marking the lowest level in 13 years.

International oil prices surged by more than 3% in a single day yesterday (the 9th), with Brent crude exceeding 101 dollars.

This is the highest closing price in four months.

Concerns over global inflation are rising again due to the hike in international oil prices driven by instability in the Middle East.

(Video Editing: Lee Seung-yeol, Design: Kang Yun-jung, JUNHO)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.