Iran keeps hitting ships, and one analyst thinks that should tell Washington something uncomfortable: this war is not exactly going according to plan.

Obsidian Risk Advisors Managing Principal Brett Erickson warned on Sunday that Iran's continued strikes on vessels indicate that prolonging the Iran war may not be in the best interests of the U.S.

Iran Was Taking It Easy on Trump

On Sunday, Erickson took to the social media platform X to say that the "amount of vessels" Iran was striking showed "how absurd any continuation of this war would be from the United States." He added that Iran was "just taking it EASY on Trump."

According to an incident report by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center (UKMTO), a vessel near the vicinity of Sohar anchorage, Oman, was hit by an "Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV)." Local authorities were assisting in the evacuation of the crew, and the extent of the environmental damage was unknown at the time.

Erickson, in a post on X, said that the "strike took place DEEP in the Gulf of Oman near Sohar Port," and that it was "likely the furthest strike" from Iran into the Gulf of Oman.

The analyst said that Indian authorities released a statement about the incident, saying that two Indian mariners were missing following the strikes on the Marshall Islands-flagged "Petro Dolphin" vessel.

Erickson also shared a statement released by India's Ministry of External Affairs, saying that another vessel, the "MT Valthera," was also struck by Iran.

The analyst said that "both vessels needed to be completely evacuated" following the strikes, which meant that there was "significant" damage, he said. "This is unsustainable. Iran was just taking it easy," he concluded.

Erickson had earlier said that Iran's strikes outside the Strait of Hormuz posed a threat to ship-to-ship transfers and threatened the flow of oil.

Ship tracker Kpler had earlier released provisional data which showed that the movement of oil had increased from the Middle East. However, Iranian strikes on vessels had picked up too.

Oil Movement

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures contracts expiring in November 2026 grew 1.08% to $92.82 at the time of writing this article. Brent futures contracts ending in December rose too, growing 1.31% to $106.09 at press time.

The United States Oil Fund (NYSE:USO) ETF grew 1.60% to $150.64 during pre-market trading on Monday. The ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil (NYSE:UCO) also recorded a 1.53% growth to $57.68 during pre-market trading.

The national average gas price also fell on Monday to $4.3556/gallon, according to data provided by the American Automobile Association (AAA). On the diesel front, the national average price remained above the $6 mark per gallon. On Monday, the national average price of diesel was $6.2665/gallon, down over 1 cent from Sunday's average of $6.2771/gallon.

Iran Says US Accepted Some Conditions

The comments come as Iran's Security Chief Mohsen Rezaee said that the U.S. had accepted some of Iran's demands to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but warned that the response was "adequate" from the U.S. Rezaee had earlier also warned that Iran would strike data centers and undersea cables.

The comments came as King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh was struck again Sunday, killing one Pakistani national and wounding 11 people, a day after a separate attack killed 13 people and wounded more than 300.

On the other hand, the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital, was struck again on Sunday, killing one Pakistani national and wounding 11 people, a day after a separate attack killed 13 people and wounded more than 300.