Saudi Arabia says Iran hit the tanker Sidr in Hormuz. AFP, on the same site, calls the attacks unclaimed.

Riyadh names the ship. Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry condemned Iran's targeting of the Saudi tanker Sidr as it crossed the Strait of Hormuz, and the deaths of the tanker's crew. LBCI carried the line at 07:12 on 2 September. It gave no number.

AFP calls it unclaimed. AFP's copy on Al-Monitor's site says "projectiles struck two oil tankers in unclaimed attacks, one of which killed two Filipino sailors, according to a Saudi shipping company". It names no attacker and no ship.

Al-Monitor's own analysis names the Revolutionary Guards, sourced to two US officials it does not name, and places the attacks off the coast of Oman on Monday — not in Hormuz.

Reported by	Attacker	Where	Crew dead
Saudi foreign ministry, via LBCI	Iran	Strait of Hormuz	deaths, no number
AFP, via Al-Monitor	unclaimed	not stated	2 Filipino sailors, per a Saudi shipping company
Al-Monitor	the IRGC, per 2 unnamed US officials	off Oman, Monday	not mentioned

What the independent reading counted. 2 of 3 reports name an attacker. 1 of 3 tells the reader the attribution is a blame and not a finding. 0 of 3 carry an Iranian response. 0 name a dead sailor — while another report in the same run names three of the four civilians killed in Iran.

Not settled. No report says the ship AFP describes is the Sidr. No report reconciles Hormuz with Oman. The only toll comes from an unnamed company, and Riyadh's own statement gives none.

What this is about. Two tankers carrying Saudi oil were hit near the mouth of the Gulf on Monday 31 August. The attacks came in a war between the United States and Iran, fought largely over the world's most important oil route.

How it got here - Iran and the United States have been adversaries since Iran's 1979 revolution. At the centre is Iran's nuclear programme. A 2015 deal limited the programme in return for the lifting of sanctions. The US left that deal in 2018 and put its sanctions back. - For years Israel and Iran fought each other mostly through proxies and covert strikes. After the Gaza war that followed the attacks of 7 October 2023, they began striking each other directly. In June 2025 Israel attacked Iran, and the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites. - On 28 February 2026, AFP reports, US-Israeli attacks on Iran killed its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The current war began that day. - AFP says Tehran has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz for six months. A fragile ceasefire collapsed after attacks on commercial ships there. Washington says it is expanding sanctions on Iran's trading partners. - The latest round began on Sunday 30 August with US strikes. President Trump says they answered an Iranian attempt to mine the strait and a missile attack on a base in Jordan. Iran then hit US bases around the region.

Who is involved - Iran's Revolutionary Guards. This force answers to the supreme leader, not to the elected government, and runs Iran's naval operations in the Gulf. - The United States. It is at war with Iran, and its forces are based in several Gulf states. - Saudi Arabia. It is one of the world's largest oil exporters and a long-time rival of Iran. The two restored diplomatic ties in 2023. - Oman. Its coast forms the southern shore of the strait, so "off Oman" and "in Hormuz" can describe the same waters. None of the reports we hold says whether they do here.

What is at stake. According to AFP, one-fifth of the world's oil flowed through Hormuz before the war. G20 finance ministers, except China's, have called for "free and safe" passage.

Where it stands. Trump says the US is ready to strike again. Iran's security chief promises a "new strategy". None of the reports we hold carries Iran's answer to the tanker accusation.

The story so far

Earlier stories The AI Times filed on this thread.

What is being argued about

Is the tanker AFP describes the Sidr? No report we hold says so.
Where were the tankers hit — the Strait of Hormuz, as Riyadh says, or off Oman, as Al-Monitor says?
How many of the crew died, and who were they? One report gives a number, none gives a name.
What does Iran say? No report we hold carries an Iranian response or denial.

Three accounts of one set of attacksSide by side

Outlet	Who it says attacked	Where	Crew dead	Hedged?
LBCI	Iran, named	the Strait of Hormuz, as the Sidr crossed	deaths of the tanker's crew, no number	Attributed to the ministry inside the sentence. Not tested.
Al-Monitor (AFP wire)	no attacker named — 'unclaimed attacks'	not stated	2 Filipino sailors, per a Saudi shipping company	Yes. Projectiles are the subject; the toll is sourced to an unnamed company.
Al-Monitor (analysis)	the Revolutionary Guards, per two unnamed US officials	off the coast of Oman, on Monday	not mentioned	Partly. Records separately that the US and Saudi Arabia 'have blamed' Iran — the only report marking the attribution as a blame.

Two of the three rows are the same outlet, on the same site, on the same day.

Sources

LBCI (Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International)

Al-Monitor

Four days, six statements, no agreed attackerTimeline

Sun 30 Aug— no time published; weekday from AFP copy dated 2 Sep US forces Strike Iranian targets, the first known strikes in several weeksAFP, via Al-Monitor
Mon 31 Aug— no time published; weekday from AFP and Al-Monitor copy not established Projectiles strike two tankers carrying Saudi oil. AFP calls the attacks unclaimed; Al-Monitor attributes them to the Revolutionary Guards and places them off Oman 2 tankersOne event, two attributions
Mon 31 Aug— no time published a Saudi shipping company, unnamed Two Filipino sailors killed on one of the two tankers 2 deadAFP's only source for the toll; no report names them
Tue 1 Sepnight 'Tuesday night' in the copy; no clock time published two US officials, unnamed US drones hit the engine rooms of two Iranian government-affiliated tankers off Iran's southern coast, to disable them 2 tankersCENTCOM's own infrared footage is the only corroboration
Wed 2 Sep07:12 LBCI ticker timestamp Saudi foreign ministry Condemns Iran's targeting of the tanker Sidr as it crossed the Strait of Hormuz, and the resulting deaths of its crew no number givenThe only report that names the ship
Wed 2 Sep— no time published; copy dated Sep 2, 2026 AFP, via Al-Monitor Calls the same tanker attacks unclaimedPublished on the site that attributes them to the IRGC

Only one row carries a published clock time. Weekday dates are derived from AFP copy dated 2 September 2026.

Sources

Al-Monitor

LBCI (Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International)

The bias in this coverageBias

Who attacked the tankers: three answers

One report names Iran and names the ship, on the Saudi foreign ministry's word. One calls the attacks unclaimed and makes the projectiles the subject of the sentence. One puts the IRGC at them on the word of anonymous US officials and separately records that Washington and Riyadh blame Iran; no Iranian denial is among the reports we hold.

2 reports naming Iran as the attacker 1 reports calling the attacks unclaimed 1 reports naming the tanker Sidr 0 reports carrying an Iranian response

The crew

The dead sailors are a nationality and a number in one report, unnumbered crew deaths in another, and absent from the third. None is named, and the only employer given is "a Saudi shipping company". In the same run, The Jerusalem Post names three of four civilians killed in Iran.

0 sailors named across the three reports 1 reports giving a number of dead crew 2 reports mentioning crew deaths at all

Scored without the mastheads. Where the two passes differ, both are kept.

Sources

Al-Monitor

LBCI (Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International)

Claims and verdicts

disputed Iran attacked the Saudi tanker Sidr as it crossed the Strait of Hormuz.

Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry names Iran and names the ship, and Al-Monitor reports that the US and Saudi Arabia blame Iran for attacks on two tankers carrying Saudi oil — but places those attacks off the coast of Oman on Monday, not in Hormuz. AFP's wire copy on Al-Monitor's own site calls the same attacks unclaimed.

Checked against 3 sources:

LBCI (Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International)

Al-Monitor

unverified The attack killed two of the tanker's crew.

AFP puts the toll at two Filipino sailors on one of two struck tankers, sourced to an unnamed Saudi shipping company; Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry says the Sidr's crew suffered deaths but gives no number. No report names the dead, and no report states that the ship AFP describes is the Sidr.

Checked against 2 sources:

Al-Monitor

LBCI (Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International)

unverified US drones struck two Iranian tankers in retaliation for the attacks on Saudi oil.

Two unnamed US officials told Al-Monitor that US drones hit the engine rooms of two Iranian government-affiliated tankers off Iran's southern coast to disable them. The only corroboration is CENTCOM's own infrared footage of explosions at two ships' sterns; no Iranian or independent account appears we hold.

Checked against 1 source:

Al-Monitor

Who wrote it

J Jared Szuba Al-Monitor

What the bias passes found in their reporting

Actor from anonymous officials Puts the IRGC at the trigger in a sentence sourc×1

Blame marked as blame The only line in the three reports that labels×1

Blame without a reply Two governments blame Iran and the report×1

Flat in the dek, attributed in the copy The standfirst states Iranian attacks as settled×1

Claims we checked that rest on their reporting

1 disputed1 unverified

From 20 reports we hold under this byline, at Al-Monitor. Two independent readings, each made without the masthead, a quote attached to every tag. A record, never a rating. Their full record →

B Beatrice Farhat Al-Monitor

What the bias passes found in their reporting

No actor, dead by nationality Calls the same attacks unclaimed, names no ship,×1

No actor named and unclaimed Same attacks with no actor and no ship name — th×1

Claims we checked that rest on their reporting

2 misleading3 disputed4 unverified

From 37 reports we hold under this byline, at Al-Monitor. Two independent readings, each made without the masthead, a quote attached to every tag. A record, never a rating. Their full record →

The bylines on the reports this story is built from. Hover one for what our passes have measured on their reporting. · 1 report we hold carries no byline — we do not invent one.

Coverage, outlet by outlet

Al-Monitor — independent

US expands Iran campaign with strikes on oil tankers - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

The only report carrying the US hit back — drones on 'the engine rooms of two Iranian government-affiliated tankers' off Iran's southern coast, from two unnamed US officials — and the only one placing the tanker attacks

By entering your email, you agree to receive AL-MONITOR's daily newsletter and occasional marketing messages. AL-MONITOR is an award-winning media outlet covering the Middle East, valued for its independence, diversity and analysis. It is read widely by US, international and Middle East decision makers at the highest levels, as well as by media, thought and business leaders and academia. Access the sharpest and most diverse regional minds giving you all the angles on regional trends. Priority access to roundtables, summits and other events alongside AL-MONITOR's global community of regional in

Us action active with intent: The US strike gets an actor, a precise target an — “US drones targeted the engine rooms of two Iranian government-affiliated tankers off Iran’s southern coast in a bid to disable them, one of the sources said.”

Location disagreement: Places the tanker attacks off Oman on Monday on — “attacks on two oil tankers ferrying Saudi oil off the coast of Oman on Monday, one of the officials said”

Actor from anonymous officials: Puts the IRGC at the trigger in a sentence sourc — “Those strikes were retaliation for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' attacks on two oil tankers ferrying Saudi oil off the coast of Oman on Monday, one of the officials said.”

Flat in the dek, attributed in the copy: The standfirst states Iranian attacks as settled — “failed to shut down the IRGC’s attacks in Hormuz”

Blame without a reply: Two governments blame Iran and the report — “The US and Saudi Arabia have blamed Iran for those attacks.”

Blame marked as blame: The only line in the three reports that labels — “The US and Saudi Arabia have blamed Iran for those attacks.”

Read it at Al-Monitor → https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/09/us-expands-iran-campaign-s…

LBCI (Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International) — independent

الوكالة الوطنية للاعلام: غارة على حي الدير في النبطية الفوقا -...

The only report that names places: an air strike on Hay al-Deir in Nabatieh al-Fawqa, "a large detonation in Kfar Tebnit that caused a huge boom across Nabatieh", and detonations with artillery in Beit Lif, Mansouri and

في المزاد الخيري لملكة جمال العالم... هديّة مميّزة من ملكة جمال لبنان بيرلا حرب (صور)

The actor is the enemy: The national news agency names the actor as 'the — “الوكالة الوطنية للاعلام: العدو نفذ تفجيرا كبيرا في كفرتبنيت أحدث دوياً هائلاً في أرجاء النبطية”

No ridge in the lebanese account: From the same ground the agency reports detonati — “الوكالة الوطنية: تفجيرات معادية في بيت ليف والمنصوري وحداثا وقصف مدفعي”

Party term for the actor: Lebanon's agency copy names the actor as "the en — “الوكالة الوطنية للاعلام: العدو نفذ تفجيرا كبيرا في كفرتبنيت أحدث دوياً هائلاً في أرجاء النبطية”

Strike with no actor: Headlines an air raid on a Nabatieh neighbourhoo — “الوكالة الوطنية للاعلام: غارة على حي الدير في النبطية الفوقا”

Read it at LBCI (Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International) → https://www.lbcgroup.tv/news/latest-news/955550/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%88%D9%8…

Al-Monitor — independent

Iran attacks US sites after American strikes, wedding deaths - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Calls the same attacks unclaimed and makes the projectiles the subject: 'projectiles struck two oil tankers in unclaimed attacks, one of which killed two Filipino sailors, according to a Saudi shipping company.' The

Iran and the United States traded threats on Wednesday after some of the heaviest fighting in weeks engulfed the Middle East, deepening the foes' stalemate six months into the war. President Donald Trump said US forces staged a "very heavy attack" on Iranian targets overnight and are "prepared to do another one any time we want". Tehran's security chief warned that Iran had adopted a "new strategy" in the war that began in late February with US-Israeli attacks on the Islamic Republic. "You will soon see that Iran's new strategy on the battlefield, in diplomacy and in confronting the economic b

No actor named and unclaimed: Same attacks with no actor and no ship name — th — “projectiles struck two oil tankers in unclaimed attacks, one of which killed two Filipino sailors, according to a Saudi shipping company”

No actor, dead by nationality: Calls the same attacks unclaimed, names no ship, — “projectiles struck two oil tankers in unclaimed attacks, one of which killed two Filipino sailors, according to a Saudi shipping company”

Read it at Al-Monitor → https://www.al-monitor.com/index%2ephp/originals/2026/09/iran-attacks-u…

Checked, didn’t cover

Haaretz

The Times of Israel

Al-Mada

North Press Agency

Tehran Times

WAFA · Palestinian News & Information Agency

SANA (Syrian Arab News Agency)

Middle East Eye

Ammon News

Al Jazeera English

An-Nahar

Silence is recorded, not inferred — each of these was read when we built this story and carried nothing on this event.

We could not read these

K Kan · Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation

Palestine TV · Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation A Al-Sabaah

Ma'an News Agency

IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency)

Al Rai

Ynet

Shargh

Al-Manar

Galei Tzahal (Army Radio)

These are must-cite outlets for this desk that we did not manage to read when we built this story. That is a gap in our reach, not a silence on their part, and it is not evidence of anything about this story.

Read another desk

Sections

Registers

Desks

Saudi Arabia says Iran hit the tanker Sidr in Hormuz. AFP, on the same site, calls the attacks unclaimed.

The story so far

What is being argued about

Who attacked the tankers: three answers

The crew

Claims and verdicts

Who wrote it

Coverage, outlet by outlet