The United Arab Emirates is planning to build a new port and container terminal on the opposite side of the Strait of Hormuz, in a push to bypass the Iranian closure of the waterway, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

According to the report, the new port would be built in the city of Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman, which already has an existing harbor, but it lacks the necessary infrastructure to serve as a major export hub for the UAE.

The initiative will be led by DP World, the UAE’s main port authority, and will also aim to reduce Dubai’s dependence on its flagship Jebel Ali hub in the Persian Gulf.

According to the UAE’s Arabian Business, the Emirates also plans to improve infrastructure at other ports in the Gulf of Oman, with the main plans centered on Dibba, Khor Fakkan, and the already mentioned Fujairah.

The push comes as conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran has complicated navigation in the Strait, with attacks against ships, marine mines, and fighting in the area stopping the transit in the waterway almost completely.

Replacing Strait of Hormuz with Mediterranean route

The Emirati decision to bypass the strait was also recommended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the beginning of the war with Iran, when he told Newsmax that the only long-term solution to the crisis in the Strait was to build pipelines to carry the Gulf state’s oil and gas to the Mediterranean.

“Long-term solutions include rerouting energy pipelines westward, across Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea and Mediterranean, bypassing Iran’s geographic choke point,” Netanyahu explained in an interview with conservative US media outlet Newsmax.

The project, which could be part of the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEC) initiative, would transform Haifa into a key oil and gas exportation hub.

IMEC, unveiled by former US president Joe Biden during the G20 Summit in New Delhi in September 2023, was conceived as a transformative infrastructure and trade project to link India with Europe through the Persian Gulf and the Eastern Mediterranean.

But even if there is political capital in Israel for the project to take place, sources told The Jerusalem Post last week that Saudi Arabia was pushing to take Israel out of the IMEC initiative.

One of the leading options under discussion would redirect the railway through Syria, creating a land bridge from the Gulf to the Mediterranean without passing through Israeli territory, they said.

At the same time, reports from Iran point out that the ruling elite is showing growing concern over the rapid progress of IMEC, according to sources familiar with the matter.

War didn’t give IMEC momentum

Samantha Sutton, a fellow at the Atlantic Council and former Director at the US National Security Council, told the Post last week that the current crisis in the Strait of Hormuz is not pushing the Gulf States towards Israel’s inclusion in the initiative, with her saying that a peace agreement with the Palestinians and normalization plans would be actually useful.

“I think that after the war, these countries now view Israel more like a liability than a partner. And while in other regions involved in the initiative there are great relations with Israel, like in India, I don’t think the last war helped to improve the image of Israel in the Middle East,” she explained.

“What would be supportive is integrating the Jordanians and the Palestinians in the initiative. I believe that if IMEC helps establish normalization with Palestinians, and includes in some way the West Bank and Gaza, then the project and Israel’s participation would have much more support. And there are political actors in Israel who plan to run in the upcoming elections, interested in making this happen,” she added. (Jerusalem Post)

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The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is not a temporary shipping disruption but the beginning of a systemic agrifood shock that could trigger a severe global food price crisis within six to 12 months, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has warned.

According to a statement by the FAO, avoiding such an outcome will require alternative trade routes, restraint on export restrictions, protection of humanitarian flows, and buffers to absorb higher transport costs.

The time has come to “start seriously thinking about how to increase the absorption capacity of countries, how to increase their resilience to this choke, so that we start to minimize the potential impacts,” FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero said in a new podcast published on Wednesday.

This involves exploring “intervention by governments, by international financial organizations, by the private sector, and by UN agencies and other research centers to try to help countries to be able to cope better with the current situation,” Torero said.

According to FAO, the window for preventive action is closing quickly. Decisions taken now by farmers and governments on fertilizer use, imports, financing and crop choices will determine whether a severe global food price crisis emerges within six to 12 months.

The impact is already visible. The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a basket of globally traded food commodities, rose for a third consecutive month in April, driven by high energy costs and disruptions linked to the conflict in the Middle East.

The shock is unfolding in stages: energy, fertilizer, seeds, lower yields, commodity price increases, then food inflation.

Mitigating these impacts will require shifting to alternative land and sea routes, including via the eastern Arabian Peninsula, western Saudi Arabia and the Red Sea, said David Laborde, Director of FAO’s Agrifood Economics Division. However, these routes have limited capacity, making it critical to avoid export restrictions by major producers. 

This is especially critical for safeguarding humanitarian food flows, Torero added.

The situation could worsen with the onset of El Niño, which is expected to bring droughts and disrupt rainfall and temperature patterns across several regions.

FAO has compiled a series of policy recommendations designed to deal with the Strait of Hormuz crisis.

Short-term recommendations:

• Rapidly secure alternative land and sea corridors to bypass Hormuz – this won’t resolve the magnitude of the supply shock of inputs but will help to marginally reduce it.
• Avoid export restrictions, especially on energy, fertilizers and inputs.
• Exempt food aid from trade curbs.
• Promote in emergency interventions intercropping (cereals + legumes) to cut nitrogenous fertilizer use and provide major nutritional, environmental, economic, and agronomic benefits.
• Activate social protection programmes, drawing on lessons from Latin America.
• Avoid blanket subsidies, which create significant fiscal pressures and tend to be regressive; instead, prioritize targeted support for the most vulnerable through digital registries that can efficiently direct assistance to vulnerable rural households and smallholders, particularly in Africa.

Medium-term recommendations:

• Avoid boosting biofuel demand during shortages to limit food–fuel competition.
• Ensure energy policy responses do not exacerbate food crises.
• Expand affordable credit for farmers and agribusinesses through second-tier institutions to provide credit lines to reach SMEs, MSMEs, and value-chain actors. These lines should be of low interest emergency credit, with repayment schedules aligned to harvest periods and with at least six to nine months of grace periods.
• Combine agricultural loans with guaranteed offtake agreements from aggregators, processors, or public buyers.
• Use digital farmer registries and mobile money systems, as implemented in Mozambique and Peru, for rapid disbursement.
• Integrate informal farmers into different forms of horizontal coordination (farmer associations, farmer groups, cooperatives, etc.)  to improve access to finance and support and take the crises as an opportunity to formalize farmers through digital registries.
• Provide facilities for balance-of-payments, support of rapid disbursement and expand financing for food and fertilizer imports. The Food Import Financing Facility is design for this and the implementation in 2022 of the food shock driven window should be reactivated.
• Use fast-track financing and increase grants for debt-distressed countries through existing mechanisms of MDBs and IFIs.

Long-term recommendations:

• Diversify ports, corridors, storage, and logistics systems globally to reduce chokepoint risks in the future.
• Build regional reserves and warehousing capacity to strengthen future shock absorption.
• Improve the resilience of domestic and cross-border transport systems.
• Use concessional financing to accelerate diversification of the energy mix and expand irrigation by replacing diesel with electric and solar-powered systems, particularly for irrigation.
• Expand the use of electrified machinery, drones, and precision agriculture technologies.
• Improve efficiency through soil mapping and precision application to reduce fertilizer waste and increase nutrient-use efficiency.
• Develop innovation funds to support green ammonia, biostimulants, crop genetics, and nutrient-efficiency technologies. While this will take three to five years, it will significantly strengthen long-term resilience.
• Coordinate with fertilizer companies to develop shared soil and fertilizer mapping systems based on agreed common standards.
• Support crop switching, intercropping, and fertilizer efficiency improvements rather than pursuing full system overhauls.
• Strengthen macroeconomic resilience to food inflation and import shocks.
• Expand the use of early warning systems, insurance, and monitoring mechanisms to act before crises escalate. This is even more urgent given the high probability of a strong El Niño event. (Newswire/ FAO)

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has met his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Beijing as tensions with the United States mount over the Strait of Hormuz.

Araghchi’s visit on Wednesday comes a week before US President Donald Trump visits Beijing for a summit with President Xi Jinping on May 14 and 15.

During the meeting, Araghchi said China is a close friend of Iran and bilateral “cooperation will even become stronger under current circumstances”, the Iranian Students’ News Agency reported.

“We will do our best to protect our legitimate rights and interests in the negotiations. … We only accept a fair and comprehensive agreement,” he ‌said of talks between Iran and the US to end the US-Israeli war on Iran, which has disrupted regional energy infrastructure and global oil and gas supplies.

Wang called for Iran and the US to reopen the strait “as soon as possible”, according to a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement.

“China considers that a complete cessation of fighting must be achieved without delay, that it is even more unacceptable to restart hostilities, and that continuing to negotiate remains essential,” the statement added.

Araghchi’s trip to Beijing marks his first visit to China – a close ally of Tehran – since the war began on February 28. Araghchi had spoken with Wang by telephone at least three times since the outbreak of hostilities.

Earlier in Washington, DC, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on Beijing to press Iran to lift its chokehold on the only maritime exit from the Gulf.

Iran in effect closed the strait – through which one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies pass – after the war began, pushing fuel and fertiliser prices sharply higher and prompting fears of a global recession.

After a ceasefire in April, the US imposed its own blockade on Iranian ports in a bid to compel Tehran to agree to Washington’s terms in peace talks.

The war has also strained relations between Washington and Beijing with the US sanctioning Chinese companies it accuses of buying billions of dollars of Iranian oil. Beijing hit back on Saturday when the Ministry of Commerce ordered Chinese companies not to comply with the sanctions.

Araghchi made his visit to China as Trump announced a suspension of a US military operation to escort stranded ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

The effort, which began on Monday, ratcheted up tensions as the US military claimed it sank several Iranian boats that tried to interfere in the operation. The United Arab Emirates also reported coming under missile and drone attacks from Iran with one assault sparking a fire at an oil refinery. Tehran denies launching the attacks.

Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform that the pause was based “on the request of Pakistan and other Countries” and because “Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran”.

Pakistan has been leading mediation efforts for a peace deal between Iran and the US.

The two sides held direct talks in Islamabad on April 11 and 12, but the negotiations ended without an agreement. Key sticking points include US demands for Iran to halt all uranium enrichment and Tehran’s wish to continue to exercise control over the Strait of Hormuz. (Al Jazeera)

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President Donald Trump said the United States will temporarily pause its operation to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz while maintaining the blockade, claiming that “Great Progress had been toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran.”

“Based on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran, we have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The operation, which Trump had announced Sunday evening, took effect Monday. Soon after, the US and Iranian militaries traded shots and accusations, raising questions about the fragile ceasefire.

But Trump administration officials insisted on Tuesday the ceasefire wasn’t over and spent the day touting the new operation to guide ships through the strait.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio — who said combat operations launched against Iran in February had concluded — told reporters at the White House that the US was focused on the new operation, which he described as the “first step” toward fully reopening the critical waterway.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a morning briefing that the effort was “separate and distinct” from the ongoing military operation in the region.

“Project Freedom is defensive in nature, focused in scope and temporary in duration, with one mission: Protecting innocent commercial shipping from Iranian aggression,” he said. (CNN)

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Iran has accused the US of violating the ceasefire agreement by maintaining a blockade on its ports. Meanwhile, a French peacekeeper was killed in southern Lebanon.

Second vessel attacked near Strait of Hormuz, UKMTO says

The UK Maritime Trade Operations reported on the second attack on a vessel near the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, hours after Iran announced it was closing the strategic waterway yet again.

UKMTO said an unknown projectile hit the container vessel 25 nautical miles (46 kilometers) northeast of Oman, damaging some of its containers.

Earlier on Saturday, UKMTO reported that two gunboats from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard opened fire on a tanker transiting the strait.

UKMTO minutes later reported on a third incident 3 nautical miles east of Oman.

“The master of a cruise ship reported sighting a splash in close proximity of the vessel,” UKMTO said.

UNIFIL says ‘non-state actors’ attacked troops in southern Lebanon

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said on Saturday that its troops came under “small-arms fire from non-state actors” in southern Lebanon, killing one peacekeeper.

The attack occurred during a UNIFIL patrol clearing explosives along the road in the village of Ghandouriyeh, the UNIFIL statement said. Three more peacekeepers were injured, two of them seriously.

“UNIFIL condemns this deliberate attack on peacekeepers engaged in their mandated tasks,” UNIFIL said. “The work of explosive ordnance disposal teams is vital in the mission’s area of operations especially in the wake of the recent hostilities.”

The peacekeeping force launched its own probe into the incident, saying that “initial assessment indicates the fire came from non-state actors (allegedly Hezbollah).”

“UNIFIL calls on the Government of Lebanon to swiftly initiate an investigation to identify and hold the perpetrators accountable for the crimes committed against UNIFIL peacekeepers,” it added.

French soldier killed in attack on UNIFIL in southern Lebanon, Macron says

French President Emmanuel Macron said that a French peacekeeper was killed in an attack against UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon Saturday, blaming Hezbollah for the attack.

“Everything suggests that responsibility for this attack lies with Hezbollah,” Macron said on X. “France demands that the Lebanese authorities immediately arrest the perpetrators and take their responsibilities alongside UNIFIL.”

Lebanon’s prime minister had condemned the attack and ordered a probe.

The Lebanese military, which also condemned the attack, said in a statement carried by the state news agency NNA that it was a result of “an exchange of fire with armed men.”

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun vowed in a phone call with Macron to prosecute those responsible for the attack. (DW)

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Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has announced that the Strait of Hormuz is closed and any transit through the waterway will face “harsh measures”, according to state media.

It added that shipping “to and from ports of allies and supporters of the Israeli-American enemies” is prohibited through any corridor or to any destination.

Three container ships of mixed nationalities were forced to turn back after warnings.

The passage, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas passes, has remained largely closed since the outbreak of hostilities.

It comes as Donald Trump is considering sending another 10,000 troops to the Middle East, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The forces would likely be sent within striking distance of Iran and Kharg Island, a key oil export hub off in the Persian Gulf.

Despite the escalation, Germany’s foreign minister on Friday said the US and Iran have had indirect negotiations and that representatives plan to meet shortly in Pakistan.

Trump said he would again extend the deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face the destruction of its energy plants, after Tehran had earlier rejected a 15-point US proposal to end the fighting as unfair. (The Independent)

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Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz says the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy, Alireza Tangsiri, was killed in an Israeli strike.

“The IDF eliminated the commander of the IRGC Navy, the person directly responsible for the terror operation of mining and blocking the Strait of Hormuz to maritime traffic,” Katz says during an assessment this morning with military officials.

Katz says the strike is a “message” to the IRGC: “The IDF will hunt you down and eliminate you one by one.”

“We will continue to operate in Iran with full force to achieve the objectives of the war,” he adds.

Tangsiri was targeted in the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas while meeting with senior commanders of the IRGC Navy, according to Israeli officials. (Israel Times)

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said Tehran is ready to facilitate the passage of Japanese vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, a key artery for global energy shipments, and that negotiations with Japan on the issue are ongoing.

“We have not closed the strait. It is open,” Araghchi said in a telephone interview with Kyodo News on Friday. He also stressed that Iran, which was attacked by the United States and Israel in late February, is seeking “not a cease-fire, but a complete, comprehensive and lasting end to the war.”

Araghchi said Iran has not closed the strategic waterway but has imposed restrictions on vessels belonging to countries involved in attacks against Iran, while offering assistance to others amid heightened security concerns.

He added that Iran is prepared to ensure safe passage for countries such as Japan if they coordinate with Tehran.

Japan relies on the Middle East for over 90 percent of its crude oil imports, most of which travel through the Strait.

The issue of navigation through the strait by Japanese vessels was discussed in his recent talks with Japan’s foreign minister, Toshimitsu Motegi, Araghchi said, noting that discussions are continuing but the details cannot be disclosed.

Araghchi, a former ambassador to Japan, has held phone talks with Motegi twice since the attacks on Iran were launched on Feb. 28. The top Iranian diplomat said he had discussed the passage of Japanese ships through the strait with Motegi.

In their most recent conversation earlier in the week, Motegi urged Iran to ensure the safety of all vessels in the strait.

The war has escalated into a broader confrontation that has raised concern about regional stability and the security of energy supplies passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

In Tokyo, a Foreign Ministry official said Japan will carefully assess Araghchi’s remarks, adding even if Japanese vessels are able to sail through, the surge in energy prices will remain.

A Japanese government official said that “directly negotiating with the Iranian side” is the “most effective way” to lift the blockade of the strait, while noting the need to avoid provoking the United States.

Vessels from countries such as India, Pakistan and Turkey have reportedly passed through the strait.

Iran has rejected calls for a temporary truce, insisting that any resolution must include guarantees against future attacks as well as compensation for the damage inflicted during the conflict.

Araghchi described the war as “imposed on Iran,” saying Tehran had been engaged in negotiations with the United States when the attacks began.

“This was an illegal, unprovoked act of aggression,” he said, adding that Iran’s response constitutes self-defense and will continue “for as long as it takes.”

He called on the international community, including Japan, to take a stand against the attacks, while expressing appreciation for Tokyo’s traditionally “balanced and fair” position and long-standing friendly ties with Iran.

Araghchi said he was aware of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s visit to Washington for summit talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, expressing hope for the role that “Japan can play to end this aggression.”

Teh foreign minister noted that several countries are attempting to mediate an end to the conflict and said Iran is “open to any initiative” and willing to consider proposals.

At the same time, he suggested that while diplomatic efforts are ongoing, the United States has yet to demonstrate its readiness for a genuine resolution. (Kyodo News)

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Oil prices have again risen above $100 per barrel as energy markets see little relief amid the biggest disruption to global energy supplies in a generation.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, surged more than 9 percent on Thursday as traders weighed the prospect of weeks, or even months, of turmoil in energy markets as the United States and Israel wage war on Iran.

Brent futures, which are traded outside of regular market hours, were priced at $101.13 as of 03:00 GMT.

Asian stock markets, including exchanges in Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong, opened sharply lower on Friday, following steep losses on Wall Street overnight.

The latest surge in oil prices came after Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei pledged to maintain the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which normally transports about one-fifth of global oil supplies.

In a statement read out on his behalf on Iranian state television, Khamenei described Tehran’s threats against shipping in the waterway as a “lever” that “must continue to be used”.

US President Donald Trump struck a similarly defiant tone on Thursday, posting on Truth Social that stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons was of “far greater interest and importance” than rising oil prices.

‘Lack of tangible goals in this war’

Traffic through the strait has effectively ground to a halt due to Iranian threats, with only a handful of vessels passing through each day, many of them claiming links to China, Iran’s key economic partner.

According to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre, no more than five ships have passed through the waterway each day since the US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran on February 28, compared with an average of 138 daily transits before the war. At least 16 commercial vessels have been attacked in the region since the start of the conflict, according to the UKMTO.

Tehran has claimed responsibility for several of the attacks, including a strike on Wednesday that crippled a Thai-flagged vessel off the coast of Oman.

Efforts to bring calm to the market have so far done little to tame prices, which are up nearly 40 percent compared with before the start of the war.

The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) announcement on Wednesday that member countries would release 400 million barrels of oil from emergency stockpiles drew a tepid response among traders eyeing a daily shortfall in global supplies estimated at 15-20 million barrels.

The US Department of the Treasury’s issuance on Thursday of a temporary licence authorising countries to purchase sanctioned Russian oil that has been stranded at sea also failed to move the market, with Brent crude staying above $100 a barrel after the Treasury announcement. (Al Jazeera)

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Explosive-laden Iranian boats appear to have attacked two fuel tankers in Iraqi waters, setting them ablaze and killing one crew member, after projectiles struck four vessels in Gulf waters, according to reports.

The ships targeted in late-night ⁠attacks on Wednesday in the Gulf near Iraq were the Marshall Islands-flagged Safesea Vishnu and the Zefyros, which had loaded fuel cargoes in Iraq, two Iraqi port officials told the Reuters news agency. One Iraqi port security source said the Zefyros was flagged ‌in Malta.

“We recovered the body of a foreign crew member from the water,” one port security official said as Iraqi rescue teams continued searching for missing seafarers.

“A boat belonging to the Iraqi Ports Company rescued 25 crew members from the two vessels, and the fires are still burning on both ships,” Farhan al-Fartousi, director general of the state-run General Company for Ports of Iraq, told Reuters.

An Indian crew member on board a United States-owned crude oil tanker was killed when it was attacked near Basra, Iraq, on Wednesday, India’s embassy in Baghdad said on Thursday.

In a post on X, the embassy said the remaining 15 Indian crew members of the Safesea Vishnu have since been evacuated to a safe location.

It said the embassy was in regular contact with the rescued Indian sailors and Iraqi authorities and was offering all possible assistance.

Al-Fartousi told Iraq’s state news agency that oil ports have stopped all operations since the attacks while commercial ports continue to function.

Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Baghdad, Mahmoud Abdelwahed, said officials described the attack on the two tankers as sabotage.

“Iraqi officials say this is a flagrant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty given the fact this act, they say, of sabotage has happened in Iraq’s territorial waters,” Abdelwahed said.

Reuters said reports of the use of explosive-laden unmanned surface vessels, which Ukraine has used with great effect in its war with Russia, come as Iran has blocked oil shipments from transiting the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of ⁠the world’s oil and gas transits but which has been blocked since the US-Israeli war on Iran began.

Reuters, quoting two unnamed sources, also reported on Wednesday that Iran ‌has deployed about a dozen mines in the strait while US President Donald Trump said US forces had struck 28 Iranian mine-laying vessels amid warnings by Trump of severe repercussions should Iran lay mines in the key waterway for global shipping.

Strait of Hormuz sealed

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned that any ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz will be targeted.

Early on Thursday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said an unidentified projectile struck a container ship, causing a small fire, 35 nautical ‌miles (64.8km) north ‌of Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates. The crew were reportedly safe.

The Thai-flagged Mayuree Naree dry bulk vessel was struck by “two projectiles of unknown origin” while sailing through the strait on Wednesday, causing a fire and damaging the engine room, the ship’s Thai-listed operator Precious Shipping said in a statement.

“Three crew members are ⁠reported missing and believed to be trapped in the engine room,” Precious Shipping said.

“The company is working with the relevant authorities to rescue these three ⁠missing crew members,” it said, adding that the remaining 20 crew members had been safely evacuated and were ashore in Oman.

Images shared by the Thai news outlet Khaosod English showed what were reported to be crew members of the ship after their rescue by Oman’s navy.

The IRGC said in a statement carried by the semiofficial Tasnim news agency that the ship was “fired upon by Iranian fighters”, suggesting the first direct engagement by the IRGC, which has previously fired missiles or drones.

The Japan-flagged container ship ONE Majesty also sustained minor damage on Wednesday from an unknown projectile 25 nautical miles (46km) northwest ⁠of Ras Al-Khaimah in the UAE, two maritime security firms said. Its Japanese owner Mitsui OSK Lines and a spokesperson for Ocean Network Express, its charterer, said the vessel was struck while at anchor in the Gulf and an inspection of the hull revealed minor damage above the waterline.

All crew members are safe, they said, adding that the vessel remains fully operational and seaworthy. The owner said the cause of the incident remained unclear and was under investigation.

A third vessel, a bulk ‌carrier, was also hit by an unknown projectile about 50 nautical miles (93km) northwest of Dubai, maritime security firms said.

The projectile had damaged the hull of the Marshall Islands-flagged Star Gwyneth, the maritime risk management company Vanguard said, adding that the vessel’s crew was safe. Owner Star Bulk Carriers said the ship was hit in the hold area while it was anchored. There were no crew injuries and no listing.

The US Navy has refused near-daily requests from the shipping industry ⁠for military escorts through the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war on Iran, saying the risk of attacks is too high for now, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. (Al Jazeera)

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The Omani navy rescued 24 crew members of a Malta-flagged container ship struck by missiles while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, state media said, as Iran pressed its Gulf retaliation campaign.

The cargo ship was “hit by two missiles”, and Oman’s royal navy rescued its “crew of 24 people”, who are now in good health, the Oman News Agency said.

Earlier, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said the ship was two nautical miles north of Oman, “transiting eastbound in the Straits of Hormuz” when it was “hit by an unknown projectile just above the water line, causing a fire in the engine room.”

Private maritime security agency Vanguard Tech said the vessel was the Malta-flagged Safeen Prestige. Information from shipping activity tracker Marine Traffic shows the vessel was en route from the UAE’s Ghantoot port to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

It was the fourth reported attack in regional waters within 24 hours, after projectiles struck or landed near three other vessels off the Emirati and Omani coasts.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday said they had “complete control” over the vital waterway, through which around 20 per cent of global seaborne oil passes, and warned that any vessels seeking to pass risked damage from missiles or stray drones.

With energy prices already spiking, US President Donald Trump had said the US Navy was ready to escort oil tankers through the crucial shipping route. (Arab News)

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President Donald Trump announced on his proprietary social media platform Tuesday that the U.S. military could help shipping vessels travel through an embattled sea passage as the war against Iran rages on.

In a Truth Social post, Trump offered the possibility of naval assistance and called upon the United States Development Finance Corporation to provide risk insurance that would guarantee the financial security of maritime trade operating near the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.

“If necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible,” Trump said.

A high-ranking member of Iran’s primary military branch, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, warned that any vessels travelling through the 100-mile-long sea passage would be targeted and met with lethal force, according to Iranian media.

The Strait of Hormuz is a pivotal choke point for oil transit located between Oman and Iran. In 2022, 21 million barrels of oil per day were transported through the strait, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

“The strait is closed, and whoever wants to cross, our heroes in the navy of the IRGC and army will set those ships on fire,” said Ebrahim Jabari, a senior adviser to the Revolutionary Guard’s commander-in-chief.

After the U.S. military struck Iran on Feb. 28, maritime traffic in the strait dropped 70%, according to MarineTraffic, a ship tracking service. As tankers became stranded in the Persian Gulf, gas prices jumped an average of 11 cents Tuesday in the U.S., according to the AAA motor club. (Navy Times)

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