An attack on Iraq’s Basra port early Thursday killed at least one person and forced authorities to halt operations at all the country’s oil terminals, officials said – as Iran stepped up its attacks on the region’s energy infrastructure.
Farhan al-Fartousi, director general of the General Company for Ports of Iraq, made the announcement in a statement carried by the state-run Iraqi News Agency on Thursday.
He said the attack targeted a ship engaged in a ship-to-ship transfer of oil in the Basra port on the Persian Gulf. He said it remained unclear if the ship was targeted by a flying or seaborne drone or a missile.
View image in fullscreenA ship burns after Iranian explosive-laden boats appear to have attacked two fuel tankers in Iraqi waters. Photograph: Media Office of Iraqi Ports/ReutersRescuers recovered one dead body and helped 38 others after the attack. Al-Fartousi said commercial ports in Iraq remained open, though the oil terminals had been shut.
Meanwhile, Bahrain told residents to stay home after an Iranian attack on fuel tanks.
The interior ministry told residents in three parts of Muharraq to “remain in their homes, close windows and ventilation openings as precaution against potential effects of smokes from the fire currently being fought”.
And Oman shifted all vessels out of its main oil export terminal at Mina Al Fahal outside the Strait of Hormuz in a precautionary move, Bloomberg News reported.
