A new round of armed escalation has been recorded in the Middle East, affecting several countries in the region. In the Iraqi city of Erbil, an unidentified unmanned aerial vehicle attacked a strategically important oil facility, causing a major fire. Emergency services are working at the scene, attempting to contain the fire and prevent the fuel tanks from detonating. Almost simultaneously with this incident, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched an offensive in the Sea of ​​Oman. According to incoming reports, Iranian forces attacked two commercial vessels on an international trade route. The nature of the damage and the fate of the crews are currently being determined by the military departments of regional players and international monitoring groups.

Military experts attribute Tehran's sharp increase in activity to the ongoing naval blockade of Iranian ports by the US Navy. Faced with severe economic isolation and the virtual impossibility of exporting hydrocarbons, Iran has resorted to direct force against key nodes of the region's energy infrastructure. The attack in Erbil demonstrates the vulnerability of Iraq's oil and gas sector, while strikes against civilian vessels in the Sea of ​​Oman effectively transform international waters into a war zone. With such steps, the Iranian leadership is attempting to demonstrate the high price the international community will pay for continuing sanctions and blocking the Islamic Republic's sea routes.