USNI News reports that US Central Command resumed strikes on Iranian targets along the Strait of Hormuz this week, and that a CENTCOM video posted to X said the targets included two unidentified ships. Asked whether the ships were docked or underway and for their names, a command spokesman referred USNI News back to the post itself, so the claim rests on CENTCOM's own footage with no independent detail [1].

The same report puts names and numbers on the shipping toll. USNI says Iran struck at least 13 commercial vessels in August, the most recent being a Monday attack on the crude oil tanker MT Sidr (IMO 9854715) that left two seafarers dead. That Monday timing matches the tanker strike UKMTO logged east of the Musandam Peninsula on 31 August, though USNI does not explicitly link the two [1].

On traffic, the Joint Maritime Information Center — part of the Combined Maritime Force — says the US facilitated 44 transits between 1 and 2 September and 39 between 30 and 31 August, against a prewar daily average of 138. USNI notes the JMIC's own Thursday advisory concedes the gap between datasets: "Independent tracking data indicated suppression with single-digit numbers transiting in both directions, while US NCAGS data indicated traffic flows averaging over 20 vessel transits per day for the last week." Lloyd's List Intelligence told USNI that transits slipped slightly in the week from 24 August, while non-Iranian-linked traffic rose 60 percent week on week; editor Richard Meade still describes a "peak disruption" [1].

JMIC advisories from late August and early September also warn mariners about uncharted or drifting mines, even though CENTCOM head Adm. Brad Cooper announced last week that the US had cleared mines from the area — a contradiction worth watching given Tehran's claims of fresh mining [1].

Analysts quoted by USNI put August crude throughput at roughly 5 to 7 million barrels a day, approaching 7 million late in the month, or about two-thirds to three-quarters of prewar volumes — below the 10 million daily and 15 to 17 million Tuesday figures Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has cited. Workarounds now include rerouting to Saudi Arabia's Yanbu pipeline, dark transits with ship-to-ship transfers, and Adnoc shuttle runs [1].