In a dramatic escalation of tensions near the strategically crucial Strait of Hormuz, a ship anchored off the coast of the United Arab Emirates has been seized and reportedly moved towards Iran. Meanwhile, a cargo vessel near Oman has sunk following an attack, according to statements from authorities on Thursday.
The perpetrators behind these incidents remain unidentified, but they coincide with a renewed assertion from a senior Iranian official claiming Iran’s control over the waterway. Another official has declared Iran’s right to capture oil tankers linked to the United States.
The unrest in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant portion of the world’s oil was transported before the ongoing conflict, has been a major point of contention in negotiations between the U.S. and Iran aimed at resolving the crisis. Iran’s hold over this critical passageway has sent shockwaves through the global economy and driven fuel prices to unprecedented levels beyond the Middle East.
This instability is unfolding just as U.S. President Donald Trump is engaged in talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. The White House confirmed that both leaders have reached a consensus on the necessity of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open to international passage.
The situation follows last week’s flare-up when U.S. forces engaged with Iranian oil tankers, disabling them as they allegedly attempted to breach a blockade imposed around Iran’s ports.
Seizures and attacks in Hormuz ongoing
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said it received reports that the ship seized Thursday was taken by unauthorized personnel while anchored 38 nautical miles (70 kilometers, 44 miles) northeast of the UAE port of Fujairah, an important oil export terminal that has been repeatedly attacked during the war with Iran.
The U.K. maritime center did not name the ship seized Thursday and said it is investigating. The British military said the vessel is heading toward Iranian waters.
Indian authorities said Thursday that an Indian-flagged cargo ship sank off the coast of Oman after an attack sparked a fire aboard the vessel while it was en route from Somalia to Sharjah, another UAE port. They did not say who attacked the ship.
The attack on the Indian-flagged cargo ship Haji Ali occurred Wednesday, according to Mukesh Mangal, a senior official in India’s shipping ministry. He said all 14 Indian crew members were rescued by Oman’s coast guard and were safe.
India’s foreign ministry called the incident “unacceptable” and condemned continued attacks on commercial shipping and civilian mariners. The ministry did not identify who carried out the attack.
Seizures come at tense diplomatic moment
Iranian semiofficial news agencies reported that Chinese ships began passing through the strait Wednesday night under new Iranian protocols. According to the reports, Tehran agreed to facilitate the passage of several Chinese vessels after requests from China’s foreign minister and Beijing’s ambassador to Iran. The ships began their passage as Trump arrived in China.
The seizure of a ship off the coast of the UAE happened hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he had quietly visited the country during the Israeli-U.S. war with Iran, though the UAE swiftly denied it.
The Gulf nation normalized relations with Israel in 2020. Iran has criticized that agreement and has repeatedly suggested over the years that Israel maintained a military and intelligence presence in the UAE.
Netanyahu’s decision to go public with the sensitive meeting was likely an effort to drum up support for his flagging party ahead of Israeli elections, said Yoel Guzansky, a senior researcher at the Institute of National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.
“It’s amazing, it’s the deepest cooperation we’ve ever had … that during a war, Israel is defending an Arab state against Iran. It shows how complicated the Middle East is,” he said.
The UAE is trying to highlight its cooperation with Israel but not with Netanyahu and his government, Guzansky said, because many in the UAE are against Israel’s policies in Gaza.
“They’re trying to differentiate between security cooperation and cooperating with this government,” said Guzansky, who previously worked for the national security council within the Israeli prime minister’s office.
Iran sets demands for new talks
Iran said it will not enter more talks with the United States unless five conditions are met, including paying reparations for the war and accepting Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency reported, citing an informed source.
The White House is again unlikely to accept those demands, which would essentially formalize Iran’s control over a waterway that was open to international traffic before the war.
Iran’s senior vice president, Mohammadreza Aref, said Thursday that the strait belongs to Iran and that Tehran would not give it up “at any price,” state TV reported. “It has always been our property,” Aref said.
Iran defends right to seize ships
Iran’s judiciary spokesperson told the state-owned Iran Daily newspaper on Thursday that Iran has the legal and judicial right to seize oil tankers in the strait that are connected to the U.S. because the U.S. has violated international maritime laws and committed piracy. The spokesperson, Asghar Jahangir, did not explicitly refer to the tanker seized on Thursday.
Iran seized a number of ships, including a tanker identified as the Ocean Koi, last week, saying it was attempting to disrupt oil exports and Iranian interests, according to the official IRNA news agency. It said the tanker was seized in the Gulf of Oman and carrying Iranian oil when it was taken to Iran’s southern coast.
The U.S. sanctioned the Ocean Koi in February as part of a “shadow fleet” transporting Iranian oil.
Top US military leader says Iran’s threats impact shipping
The top U.S. commander in the Middle East said Thursday he believes Iran’s military capabilities have been “dramatically degraded,” but its leaders are impacting shipping in the strait with rhetoric alone.
“Their voice is very loud, and the threats are clearly heard by the merchant industry and the insurance industry,” Adm. Brad Cooper told lawmakers in Congress.
He said the U.S. has the military power to permanently reopen the strait and escort ships. But he deferred to policymakers about the best path forward amid a “time of sensitive negotiations.”