A ship anchored off the UAE was seized and taken toward Iran, while a cargo vessel near Oman sank after an attack, as demands for new U.S.-Iran talks and fresh flare-ups roil the Strait of Hormuz.
Tensions flared near the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, after a ship anchored off the United Arab Emirates was seized and another cargo vessel near Oman sank following an attack, underscoring how quickly disruption in the vital waterway can spread.
The UAE-based incident came first.. British authorities said they received reports that the vessel seized Thursday was taken by unauthorized personnel while anchored about 38 nautical miles northeast of the UAE port of Fujairah. a major oil export hub that has been targeted repeatedly during the war between Iran and the United States.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre did not name the ship and said it is investigating. The British military said the vessel is heading toward Iranian waters.
Hours later, Indian authorities said an Indian-flagged cargo ship sank off the coast of Oman after an attack sparked a fire aboard the vessel. The ship had been en route from Somalia to Sharjah in the UAE. Authorities did not identify who attacked it.
The incident involving the 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, but it also did not specify the attacker.
The Strait’s disruption is not happening in isolation.. The waterway carries roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and has been a central pressure point for weeks as the United States and Iran talk toward ending their conflict.. The turmoil has already jolted markets and driven fuel prices far beyond the Middle East.
Those stakes were reflected again as the U.S. President Donald Trump met Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing. The White House said both sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open.
Less than a week earlier, tensions had already erupted after U.S. forces fired on and disabled Iranian oil tankers they said were trying to breach a U.S. blockade of Iran’s ports.
Seizure comes alongside a sensitive diplomatic moment
The seizure off the UAE coast landed at a particularly tense diplomatic time.. Iranian semiofficial reports said Chinese ships began passing through the strait on Wednesday night under new Iranian protocols.. The reports said Tehran agreed to facilitate the passage of several Chinese vessels after requests from China’s foreign minister and Beijing’s ambassador to Iran. and that the ships began their passage as Trump arrived in China.
Meanwhile. the UAE seizure occurred hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he had quietly visited the country during the Israeli-U.S.. war with Iran.. The UAE swiftly denied the claim.. The Gulf state normalized relations with Israel in 2020. but Iran has long criticized the move and has repeatedly suggested that Israel maintains a military and intelligence presence in the UAE.
Yoel Guzansky. a senior researcher at the Institute of National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. said Netanyahu’s decision to go public was likely aimed at building support for a flagging party ahead of Israeli elections.. Guzansky also said the UAE appears to be trying to highlight security cooperation with Israel without appearing to align with Netanyahu’s government. noting that many in the UAE oppose Israel’s policies in Gaza.
Iran’s demands for new talks
Against this backdrop, Iran signaled it will condition any further discussions with the United States.. Iran said it will not enter additional talks unless five conditions are met. including paying reparations for the war and accepting Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. according to Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency. citing an informed source.
The White House is not expected to accept demands that would effectively formalize Iran’s control over a waterway that had been open to international traffic before the war.
On Thursday, Iran’s senior vice president, Mohammadreza Aref, told state TV that the strait belongs to Iran and that Tehran would not give it up “at any price.” “It has always been our property,” Aref said.
Iran also defended its right to seize ships.. Iran’s judiciary spokesperson. Asghar Jahangir. told state media that Iran has the legal and judicial right to seize oil tankers in the strait connected to the U.S.. arguing the U.S.. has violated international maritime laws and committed piracy.. Jahangir did not specifically refer to the tanker seized Thursday.
Last week. Iran seized several ships. including a tanker identified as the Ocean Koi. saying it was trying to disrupt oil exports and Iranian interests.. IRNA said the tanker was seized in the Gulf of Oman while carrying Iranian oil and was brought to Iran’s southern coast.. The U.S.. sanctioned the Ocean Koi in February as part of a so-called “shadow fleet” transporting Iranian oil.
U.S. commander: rhetoric is affecting shipping
The U.S. military’s top commander in the Middle East said Thursday that Iran’s military capabilities may be less effective than before, but that Iran’s leadership is still affecting shipping through threats and rhetoric.
“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.
Cooper said the U.S. has the military power to permanently reopen the strait and escort ships, but deferred to policymakers about the best path forward given what he called a “time of sensitive negotiations.”
Strait of Hormuz ship seized Iranian threats UAE maritime cargo ship sank U.S.-Iran talks