US Strikes Kill Three on Qeshm Island as IRGC Fires on Hormuz Tankers

US Central Command launched airstrikes on Iran's Qeshm Island on July 30, killing three people according to Iranian state media and French news agency reports. The island sits at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint through which roughly a fifth of the world's traded oil passes each day.

Iran's IRGC responded the same day. Two oil tankers trying to cross the strait were intercepted. One of them caught fire. The crew abandoned the burning vessel before it could be towed clear. CENTCOM confirmed it had escorted QatarEnergy's LNG carrier Al Areesh through the strait, the first LNG tanker to complete a transit in weeks.

Three dead on Qeshm. A tanker crew in the water. The first LNG carrier out in weeks under warship escort. July 30 was the most active day for strait incidents since Iran began its interdiction campaign.

The US and UK are pressing regional and European allies to join a formal naval protection coalition to keep Hormuz open to routine shipping. Iran has made its position plain: any company accepting compensation from frozen Iranian assets will be blocked from the strait. The US Treasury announced fresh sanctions on ten companies and eight tankers tied to Iran's oil trade.

Qeshm County is one of the most-tracked areas on MarineRadar at the moment, with 141 devices checking the waters around the island in the last 48 hours.