The Iranian Revolutionary Guard fired a sea-launched cruise missile at a merchant vessel on Sunday evening for allegedly traversing an unauthorized route through the Strait of Hormuz. Fars News Agency, an outlet affiliated with the IRGC, reported that Iranian forces targeted 18 vessels in the waterway over a 24 hour period. These latest strikes follow a wave of engagements over the preceding weekend where Tehran claimed to have struck 19 violating ships, though no targets for the Sunday attack have been identified.

A U.S. official told Axios that no ships were struck during the weekend engagements, contradicting Iranian claims that 12 vessels were targeted Friday and seven on Saturday. Satellite imagery from Sept. 26 showed roughly 75 high-speed craft swarming off Khasab, and daily crossings for large commodity vessels have plummeted to as few as 2 ships from 125 before the conflict. The U.S. military is now considering placing armed Marines and sailors on commercial tankers to provide zone defense against further seizures or attacks.