US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Friday that the United States has detected repeated Iranian threats to commercial shipping in Gulf waters. Kirby explained that Iran harassed, attacked or interfered with the navigational rights of up to 15 merchant vessels.
He said U.S. Central Command would provide additional details of these reinforcements in the coming days. About a fifth of the world's crude oil and petroleum products pass through the Strait of Hormuz, located between Iran and Oman, according to data from analytics firm Vortexa.