Iran strikes vessel, pausing UN evacuations from Hormuz

Iran strikes – An Iranian drone attack damaged a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, forcing the UN’s maritime body to pause an evacuation mission for stranded seafarers. The strike came hours after Revolutionary Guards warnings about “safe passage” via Iranian-d

When the projectile hit the cargo vessel’s starboard side, the damage went straight to the bridge. In the narrow Strait of Hormuz, that kind of impact is more than a mechanical break—it halts schedules, raises alarms, and turns every transiting ship into a question.

On Thursday. the attack forced the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) to pause a mission to evacuate “hundred of ships and more than 11. 000 seafarers” stranded in the Persian Gulf region since the war began. The IMO said its decision was about coordination and navigational safety. after the incident unfolded during a delicate moment in US-Iran efforts to de-escalate.

The IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said the safety of seafarers remains paramount. In a statement, he added: “Therefore, to ensure a coordinated approach and navigational safety, the evacuation plan will be paused until further clarity is obtained.”

The vessel was attacked by an Iranian drone, a US official said, though no further details were provided. Iran has not claimed responsibility.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which monitors marine traffic in the region, reported that no casualties or environmental impact were reported. Still, vessels in the area were advised to transit with caution and report suspicious activity.

Dominguez also said the ship that was attacked was not operating under the IMO evacuation framework. That distinction matters, because the evacuation mission had only begun in recent days—after a memorandum of understanding was signed between Washington and Tehran.

Thursday’s strike landed hours after Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards warned that vessels would only be granted safe passage via Iranian routes, challenging the Trump administration’s claim that the strait is free and open once more.

And even beyond the UN’s pause, the standoff over control remained visible. Iran views the waterway as leverage in negotiations. On Thursday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp warned that safe passage would be given only to ships via routes declared to Iran.

After the attack. the Persian Gulf Strait Authority—an agency Tehran recently established to manage the strait—said safe transit would not be guaranteed. It added on X that “The consequences of traveling on unauthorized routes will be the responsibility of the owner. operator. and commander of the vessel.”.

That has put extra pressure on a process already built on fragile timing. The UN’s mission is meant to move people out of danger; the route restrictions described by Iran are meant to shape which ships can move through the corridor at all.

There’s a tightening sequence here: the evacuation only started after the US and Iran signed their memorandum. and the attack came soon after. with guidance that points back toward Iranian control. Ship movements in the Strait of Hormuz also surged—this week. transit hit its highest point since the war began in late February. MarineTraffic data showed 70 crossings on Wednesday, with most vessels using a route that followed the coast of Oman.

Economically, markets reacted quickly. Thursday’s strike prompted an uptick in global oil prices after the signing last week had sent prices falling to their lowest level since the start of the Iran war. Brent crude, the international benchmark, closed up 2% at $74 per barrel before easing back in trading early Friday.

The broader deal still describes a path toward reopening the strait. The agreement between Washington and Tehran includes a commitment to reopen the waterway without tolls for 60 days. and it has already seen the US lift its blockade of Iranian ports. But the 14-point memorandum also grants Iran a formal role in overseeing commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz alongside Oman.

Tehran began to enforce tolls on vessels wishing to transit the strait during the conflict, a move the Trump administration has vowed not to allow under a long-term peace deal.

At a meeting with foreign ministers of Gulf Arab states in Bahrain on Thursday, Marco Rubio made his position blunt. “The reality of it is that no country on Earth has a right to charge for the use of international waterways. and that will never be an acceptable condition of any deal.” A joint statement later said the ministers “rejected any tolls. fees. or attempts to assert control over the Strait.”.

Tehran has disputed the idea that the waterway is international waters. and it has previously raised the prospect of charging a kind of service fee rather than toll. alongside Oman. But on Thursday. Oman said future arrangements for the strait do not include transit fees for vessels. according to the state-run news agency.

Rubio responded to the language shift by saying, “You can call it a toll, you can call it a fee, whatever you want to call it. It’s a game of semantics.”

The memorandum is designed to halt fighting. open the Strait of Hormuz. and offer economic relief to Iran in exchange for a pledge never to develop nuclear weapons. Yet it leaves major details—especially around the future of Tehran’s nuclear program and its stocks of enriched uranium—to be hashed out over the 60 days of negotiations.

Rubio said on Wednesday that those technical talks will be held at the expert level. Working groups will cover subjects including nuclear energy and sanctions, beginning June 30.

But the process has been tangled by events far beyond the shoreline. Persistent fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has threatened to derail US-Iran talks last week. Rubio has tried to separate the Israel-Lebanon talks from US-Iran negotiations. even as Iran has repeatedly insisted the issues are entwined. The agreement itself declared an end of fighting on all fronts, including Lebanon.

On Friday morning, Israel launched airstrikes on targets near Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency.

The Trump administration has expressed increasing frustration over Israel’s campaign in Lebanon, and Rubio is skipping Israel on his ongoing Middle East visit—something some analysts described as a snub of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

As the evacuation plan pauses “until further clarity is obtained,” one thing is already clear in the waters of the Hormuz corridor: the agreement may be underway, but the risks have not been fully contained.

Iran Strait of Hormuz UN IMO evacuation plan seafarers Marco Rubio US Iran agreement tolls Revolutionary Guards oil prices Brent crude