IRGC reportedly targeted tanker in Strait of Hormuz on July 7

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, was reported to have attacked commercial shipping near the Strait of Hormuz again, underscoring the tension between Tehran’s attempt to use the waterway as leverage in talks with the United States and signs that more vessels are continuing to transit the area. A senior U.S. official said the IRGC fired missiles at two commercial ships near the strait early Tuesday, echoing an attack two weeks earlier that was aimed at disrupting traffic along a route hugging the southern side of the waterway by the Omani coast. Iran has warned shippers away from that corridor and urged them to use a northern path it controls. Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, or UKMTO, said another tanker was hit later Tuesday by an unidentified projectile in the strait, causing structural damage. The latest reported incidents add to uncertainty over transit rules, safety risks and freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints as U.S.-Iran peace talks continue.