US guns fire on 17 civilians in dead of night tanker strike as Trump’s Iran war sparks gas carnage

US forces enforcing Donald Trump's blockade of Iran fired a missile at a Panama-flagged tanker in the early hours of Tuesday after its crew ignored warnings, forcing all 17 crew members to abandon ship. The strike, which hit the vessel's rudder and sparked a fire that was later extinguished, marks an escalation in the confrontation over the Strait of Hormuz, through which around a fifth of global oil supplies pass, as US-Iran peace talks remain stalled.

The attack comes as oil prices climbed to $89 a barrel and US petrol prices hover near $4 a gallon, piling economic pressure on Americans ahead of November's midterm elections. Iran is demanding joint control of the strait and the right to tax passing vessels, while Washington insists on the restoration of free passage before lifting the blockade; Tehran has also called for US forces to leave the Middle East and pay compensation, a demand Trump has rejected while counter-demanding reparations for decades of alleged Iranian-backed attacks. US Central Command says it has turned away 53 commercial vessels since the blockade began, no tankers have loaded at Kharg Island, and Iran's annual inflation reached 88.6% in late June, with the government now rationing electricity.