The military dimension of the conflict continued to escalate in murky and alarming ways. Iranian state media, via the Tasnim news agency, claimed that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards destroyed a U.S. aircraft that was searching for the crew of a downed American F-15 fighter jet in the southern region of Isfahan. The Guardian reported it was unable to independently verify the claim, but the assertion — if true — would represent a significant escalation in the ongoing hostilities.
Meanwhile, the crisis’s impact on global shipping remained stark. An India-flagged LPG tanker, the Green Asha, successfully crossed the Strait of Hormuz carrying 20,000 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas. But according to The Hindu, at least three more foreign-flagged vessels carrying a combined 87,000 tonnes of LPG were still waiting for safe passage — a reminder that the world’s energy arteries remain under threat.