Cargo Vessel Struck By Unknown Projectile In Hormuz, Casualties Reported

Just the day after the White House reported its envoys had a “very productive” 3-hour long meeting with the Iranian side at the UN in New York, and as President Masoud Pezeshkian is readying to address the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, there’s been another tanker attack incident in the Strait of Hormuz.

UKMTO cites in a fresh alert that a cargo vessel has reported being struck by an unknown projectile, resulting in two casualties.

All crew has been evacuated, with the vessel on fire and adrift, in what looked to be a major attack by either a drone or missile. Further, “UKMTO said authorities were investigating the incident and that there was no reported environmental impact.”

Tehran remained defiant after Tuesday’s ultimatum and threats from the UN stage by President Trump. He had posed before the world, provocatively:

“Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before — maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world? Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic, and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy again?”

“Do I drive them into hell,“ he continued, “with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness?”

Iranian Ambassador Kazem Jalali has responded by saying that Washington has no choice but to accept what he called the strait’s new legal status. He asserted this will only be decided under the protocol being implemented by Iran and Oman, and only then will US or other foreign ships pass through the waterway.

Further there was a written, albeit indirect, response from the Ayatollah, who is in hiding:

Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, though not in direct response to Trump, used similarly combative imagery in a message marking the start of Iran’s academic year, describing knowledge combined with faith and morality as a “sharp sword” capable of cutting off the hands of aggressors.

Iran’s military has also dismissed threat to “annihilate” the Islamic Republic, stating it is ready to hit back with ”crushing” attacks far more severe than what marked earlier phases of the war.

The numbers have doubled in less than a month.

The total crude oil egress via the USN-BL is now 13 Mbpd, with estimated SoH transits at 10.35 Mbpd given that Fujairah and Mina al-Fahal together account for around 2.65 Mbpd on average.

This is partly attributed to Saudi Arabia… https://t.co/ZffcwAhQ4J

— TankerTrackers.com, Inc. (@TankerTrackers) September 23, 2026

This week had kicked off with similar Hormuz incidents on Sept.20 and 21. The ADNOC Shipping & Logistics LPG carrier and tanker, as well as an Isle of Man-flagged tanker, were attacked by the Iranians in those incidents.