Tankers continue to burn in the Middle East despite hopes for de-escalation

Despite market bets on a de-escalation in the Iran ​war, new evidence has emerged in recent days of strikes ‌on ​tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and on energy infrastructure in the Middle East.

On Tuesday, crude prices hit two-month lows after US officials downplayed the need for additional military action against Iran, with analysts noting President Donald Trump's ‌more conciliatory tone since the Republicans' defeat in the November 3 midterm elections. However, there is little sign of attacks abating in November, after 37 ships were attacked in October, the highest monthly total since the start of the war, according to data from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Videos posted on social media on Sunday and ‌verified by Reuters showed a Navig8 tanker on fire near the coast of Oman. An image captured by the European Union's Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite on Sunday ‌showed a large cloud of black smoke at the same location. It was one of three tankers hit on Sunday for using "unauthorised routes" through the strait, Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported, citing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy.

The vessel is managed by Navig8, majority owned by ADNOC Logistics & Services. Neither replied to emailed Reuters requests for comment. At the same time, US forces continued to enforce a naval blockade ⁠of Iranian ​ports. In the latest incident, a ⁠US military aircraft fired on and disabled a St Kitts-flagged cargo vessel that tried to depart regional waters after visiting an Iranian port on Saturday, US Central Command said.

Attacks in the strait have ⁠caused environmental damage, with oil leaking from damaged tankers. A video shared on social media on Monday, and verified by Reuters, showed oil reaching the shores of Oman, while satellite imagery ​showed oil spills off the coast of Oman and UAE. The Omani government did not respond to Reuters request on Tuesday for comment on ⁠the video of oil reaching Omani shores. Elsewhere in the region, energy infrastructure and civilian facilities have also come under attack. Iran and its regional allies have struck targets including the offices of Saudi Aramco , ⁠the ​world's largest oil company. Video verified by Reuters showed damage to Aramco's office building in Riyadh, following Houthi-claimed missile strikes on November 8.

The Saudi Energy Ministry said that a building belonging to Aramco in Riyadh had been targeted in an attempted attack, with debris causing limited damage to the building with no injuries or ⁠fatalities. The International Maritime Organization has confirmed 130 incidents, most of them attacks, in the region since the conflict began in late February, with at least 25 ⁠seafarers killed.

Another tanker was struck northeast of ⁠Oman's Lima, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said on Tuesday. UKMTO did not say who struck it. Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy said in a separate statement that two tankers caught fire after hitting naval mines on the "unauthorized route" in the ‌strait.