Iran claims attack on US vessel amid renewed fighting over Strait of Hormuz but the US denies it

Iran said Sunday it struck an unmanned US vessel trying to enter the Strait of Hormuz a claim that the US military dismissed as a total lieThe purported attack came a day after the US military said forces struck three Iranian oil tankers in response to Navy warships being targeted with ballistic missiles Experts called it a dangerous escalation after Irans previous attacks at sea targeted commercial shippingThe war began with US and Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28 But since a fragile ceasefire agreement was announced in June onandoff fighting has persisted with both sides trying to inflict military and economic pain as negotiations have collapsedStrikes came about a week after fighting resumedThe United States and Iran resumed attacks last week following a month of relative calm with the Strait of Hormuz and areas along Irans southern coast again being targetedAt least five people were killed earlier in the week during a US bombardment that returned attention to the area where a school was hit in the wars opening strikesThe Trump administration appears to have adopted a dualprong approach to the conflict responding militarily to attacks on the strait while going after foreign financial institutions that handle Irans money But Tehrans hardline new senior leaders have signalled a willingness to dig in after weathering decades of sanctionsIran has found ways over the years to circumvent sanctions and now a US blockade of its ports and get its oil to buyers to help ease growing economic pressures That relies in part on a shadow fleet transporting its oilUS says million barrels of oil a day pass through the straitTehrans new leverage focuses on the Strait of Hormuz that is crucial to global oil and natural gas shipments It was seen as an international waterway before the war began On Sunday US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that on average 9 million barrels of oil a day are getting through the strait which should help to relieve pressure on energy pricesHis estimate appeared to exceed average flows over the past 28 days through the strait according to TankerTrackerscom and other sources Wright told CNN that with oil also flowing through pipelines in the region were probably twothirds or more of preconflict flowsBut those flows depend on the presence of the US Navy to help escort tankers and provide some protection against possible Iranian attack Wright said he expected that other countries would eventually support the Navys effortsMeanwhile Irans nuclear program the issue that contributed to the outbreak of the war was meant to be addressed in negotiations that fell apart soon after the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding in midJuneDiplomats say the US Britain France and Germany now seek to refer Iran to the UN Security Council for failure to comply with its nuclear nonproliferation obligationsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever