LONDON, April 5. /TASS/. The situation in the Persian Gulf region continues to be assessed as critical; in just over a month, 27 attacks on ships and port infrastructure have been recorded there, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Center reported.
"The regional maritime threat environment across the Arabian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Gulf of Oman remains critical," the statement said. Since March 1, the UK Navy has received reports of 27 incidents, and the number of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz daily has dropped from 138 to eight.
The most recent incident occurred on April 5 when debris fell near a container ship unloading at the port of Khor Fakkan in the UAE. Local authorities later reported that a fire at the port was caused by debris from a downed drone. One person received serious injuries.
The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were struck. The White House justified the attack by citing alleged missile and nuclear threats from Iran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a retaliatory operation, targeting sites in Israel. US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were also hit. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and some other key Iranian leaders were killed in the joint US-Israeli attack.
In turn, Iranian authorities decided to close the Strait of Hormuz to ships linked to the US, Israel, and countries that supported the aggression against the Islamic Republic. During the conflict, several tankers were attacked for passing through the strait without Tehran’s permission. On March 25, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that Iran had authorized passage through the Strait of Hormuz for friendly countries, including Russia, India, Iraq, China, and Pakistan.