A Bermuda-flagged tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz was struck by missiles overnight Saturday, while embassies in the region urged Americans to leave the Middle East ahead of a massive US and Israeli attack expected to target Iran’s energy infrastructure.
The Gaslog Shanghai LNG ship, which was carrying liquefied natural gas, sustained damage to its engine room, rendering it inoperable off the Omani coast, Bloomberg reported, citing security intelligence sources.
The Bermuda carrier had picked up an LNG shipment from Qatar around July 27 and last sent a signal on Friday near the western entrance of Hormuz.
Later Saturday, a Liberian-flagged ship 11 nautical miles away reported seeing a large splash and an explosion close to the vessel, though no damage was reported, the UK Maritime Trade Operations said.
Iran has yet to take credit for the attacks, but has repeatedly threatened the security of vessels transiting the US-approved southern corridor of Hormuz.
The strikes come just days after another Gaslog LNG carrier was hit while in a northern Egyptian port in a strike that has still not been claimed by any group.
Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Rezaei threatened to send the US “back to the Stone Age” on Saturday if there were any attacks on the nation’s energy infrastructure — after President Trump directed more strikes on Tehran that were expected to begin as soon as this weekend, a source familiar with military planning said Friday.
“If Iran is struck, we will send the entire region and its facilities back to the Stone Age,” Rezaei, a member of parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, wrote on X. “It is in your interest not to do anything foolish.”
Kuwait’s military also said Iranian drones struck “a number of vital facilities” on Saturday, including a government building in the northern part of the Gulf country, though no casualties were reported.
With heightened fears of a full-scale return to war, US embassies across the Middle East issued urgent warnings Saturday for Americans to evacuate “due to heightened tensions” and the “potential for unforeseen escalation” in the region.
“Americans currently in the Middle East should exercise caution and heightened vigilance and should be prepared for flight cancellations, periodic airspace closures, and potential travel disruptions,” identical alerts in Jerusalem, Jordan, Cairo and seven other embassies read.
“Americans in the region should consider departing, or be prepared to depart should there be escalation.”
So far, the US has held back on attacking the Islamic Republic’s energy infrastructure — but that may change this weekend, CBS reported Friday, noting there were Cabinet discussions on carrying out one of the harshest bombing campaigns yet in tandem with Israel.
The joint operation would target sites including power plants and refineries, sources told the outlet.
It would also mark Israel’s return to war against Iran for the first time since the breakdown of the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran earlier this month.
Trump confirmed that it was only a matter of time before the US military began striking Iran.
“We’re going big. We’ve already gone big,” later adding that US military operations against the Iranian regime will “get a little stronger maybe now, but they’ll get weaker.”
