Iran Targets 6th Ship In Hormuz Strait, Video Shows Billowing Smoke

Iran's state-run media has claimed that sixth ship has been targetted in the Strait of Hormuz, which the Islamic nation has declared shut. The closure is in retaliation to Saturday's air strikes by US and Israel, in which Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei died along with senior military officers. 

On Sunday, Iran announced that no ship has the right to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which is the transit point for a fifth of global oil and gas supplies. 

While major global shipping lines suspended transits through the waterway on Sunday, a Palau-flagged oil tanker under US sanctions sailing through it near Oman faced missile attacks towards the afternoon.

On Monday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), reported that two more ships were hit - one a tanker near Muscat, Oman, and a second near Mina Saqr, UAE.

Vessels have been advised to keep clear of the Strait of Hormuz and wider Gulf of Oman, the US transport ministry's Maritime Administration said separately in a note on Saturday.

"Any US-flagged, owned or crewed commercial vessels that are operating in these areas should maintain a standoff of 30 nautical miles from U.S. military vessels to reduce the risk of being mistaken as a threat," it said.

The closure of the Strait has sparked concern about a global oil shock. Oil prices are already up. US oil traded 7.4 per cent higher at $71.97 per barrel, while international standard Brent was up 7.7 per cent at $78.46 per barrel.

On Sunday, Tehran attacked targets across the Gulf to retaliate against the killing of Khamenei. Strikes were carried out against US military bases and civilian targets across eight countries. Besides Israel,  Iran has struck targets in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Jordan.

The Strait of Hormuz, situated between Iran and Oman's Musandam exclave, is the Gulf's only link to the open ocean and global markets.