EL7.AI
GeopoliticsMedium•21 October 2026•
3 min read

Explosions in Iran's Sirik as Channel 12 reports US strike near Hormuz

Key Facts

1Oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz averaged 20.9 million barrels per day in the first half of 2025, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
2Kpler recorded at least 18 attacks on ships over two weeks, according to a note that preceded the Sirik report and was carried by Reuters.
3The US Energy Information Administration estimated the combined capacity of Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline and the UAE's Abu Dhabi pipeline to bypass the strait at about 4.7 million barrels per day.
4AFP cited Iran's official news agency as reporting several explosions in the Karban area of Sirik in Hormozgan province.
5Newsquawk attributed to Israel's Channel 12 a claim that US forces struck an anti-ship missile launcher targeting ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

AFP cited Iran's official news agency as reporting several explosions in the Karban area of Sirik, in Hormozgan province, as a claim circulated that a US strike had targeted an anti-ship missile launcher near the Strait of Hormuz. Newsquawk carried the claim, attributing it to Israel's Channel 12, which said US forces had struck a launcher that was targeting ships in the strait. The report attributed to the channel said US forces "struck an anti-ship missile launcher targeting ships in the Strait of Hormuz." Before the Sirik report, shipping tracker Kpler had released a tally of attacks on vessels, carried by Reuters. The company said in a note issued on Monday that at least 18 attacks on ships had been reported over two weeks. The tally, published before the report of explosions, places the Sirik incident in the context of repeated attacks on shipping during the preceding period.

The strait's importance to energy supplies is underscored by the volume of oil passing through it, with total flows averaging 20.9 million barrels per day in the first half of 2025, according to the US Energy Information Administration. That average covers oil movements through the strait during that period, when the passage carried that volume daily. In its assessment of routes bypassing Hormuz in the event of supply disruptions, the agency pointed to Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline and the UAE's Abu Dhabi pipeline. It estimated that the two pipelines together could provide about 4.7 million barrels per day of capacity to move oil away from the strait. The agency described this as "about 4.7 million barrels per day of capacity to bypass the strait" in the event of supply disruptions.

In the oil market, December Brent futures had risen during trading on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, before the Sirik report was published, according to Investing.com. They were up 0.6%, taking the price to $109.52 a barrel by 19:25 GMT. The trading came on the day US inventory figures were released for the week ended 16 October, the period covered by the US Energy Information Administration's report. Reuters cited the agency as saying crude oil inventories fell by 3.06 million barrels that week. The weekly decline brought total US crude inventories to 412.5 million barrels.

On US pressure on Tehran, the US Treasury Department announced sanctions on shipping agents based in Singapore and the UAE in a statement issued on the day of the Sirik report. The department said the agents directly supported the operations of Iran's shadow fleet. In a warning concerning financial transactions, the Office of Foreign Assets Control alerted foreign financial institutions that continue to deal with Iran or its financial sector to the risk of sanctions under Operation "Economic Outcast." On the diplomatic front, before the report of explosions, Investing.com, citing Bloomberg, reported that a diplomat involved in US-Iran negotiations had disputed reports suggesting a deal was close. The diplomat challenged the characterization of a deal as imminent, while not denying that talks between the two sides were continuing.