Today’s strike adds to an already severely stretched oil supply picture, with the Strait of Hormuz, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline all actively disrupted by the war. The attack on a tanker moving under direct US Navy escort marks a sharp escalation, proving that even protected convoys—designed specifically to keep crude and product flows moving through the blockade—are under direct fire. Oil prices have remained elevated for months due to ongoing Hormuz blockades, the shutdown of Saudi's main pipeline workaround, and Houthi advances along the Bab al-Mandeb route. This direct hit on an escorted vessel guarantees a fresh risk premium. The ultimate scale of the market reaction will depend on incoming details regarding the tanker's cargo status, flag, and physical damage.Iran has struck an oil tanker under US Navy escort in the Strait of Hormuz following a barrage of anti-ship ballistic missile launches targeting the strategic waterway.Summary:UKMTO has issued a warning following a security incident in the Strait of Hormuz, 16 nautical miles northeast of Khasab, Oman, on 17 September.The crew is reported safe with no immediate environmental damage confirmed, and maritime authorities are investigating the hit.Iran executed the strike on the tanker as it transited under direct US Navy escort through the US-backed southern Omani corridor.The attack directly followed anti-ship ballistic missile launches from southern Iran into the strait, executed while three US Air Force tankers operated overhead.The escalation comes amid the wider war underway since 28 February, which has choked the Strait of Hormuz, Yemen's Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline.Houthi coastal advances and a recent drone strike on the East-West pipeline have severely crippled Saudi export capacity, contributing to a combined loss of roughly 4% of global oil supply according to the IEA.The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre has issued a security warning following an attack on a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, 16 nautical miles northeast of Khasab, Oman, dated 17 September. UKMTO confirmed that the crew of the targeted vessel are safe and no environmental impact has been detected, with authorities responding and surrounding traffic advised to transit with extreme caution.Iran struck the oil tanker as it transited under active US Navy escort along the US-backed southern Omani corridor, a specialized transit route established specifically to bypass the broader Hormuz blockade. The strike came immediately after Iran launched a salvo of anti-ship ballistic missiles from its southern coast toward the waterway, carried out while three US Air Force aerial refueling tankers were deployed overhead.This hit marks another sharp escalation in the war triggered on 28 February by joint US and Israeli strikes on Iran. Iran responded by closing commercial access to the Strait of Hormuz through targeted vessel attacks and sea mining, forcing the US to deploy aerial cover and naval escorts to keep essential crude traffic moving. Despite a memorandum signed in June and intermittent diplomatic contact, both sides have continued to exchange heavy fire across key shipping lanes and military installations.The battle for Gulf energy infrastructure has simultaneously intensified outside of Hormuz. Houthi forces in Yemen have advanced rapidly across the Red Sea coast, seizing Perim Island and the port of Mocha to lock down the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. Concurrently, a mid-September drone strike launched from Iraq shut down Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline, cutting off the kingdom's primary bypass route to the Red Sea port of Yanbu. The International Energy Agency reports that the combined impact of the pipeline shutdown and Red Sea blockades has driven Saudi crude exports to their lowest levels in over three decades, effectively removing 4% of total global oil supply from the market. This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.