UN pauses – The International Maritime Organization paused its plan to evacuate ships stranded in the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz after a British report of a projectile strike on a vessel off Oman. The incident comes amid U.S.-Iran talks over an interim arra
For a moment this week, the corridor through the Strait of Hormuz looked like it might be easing. Then a vessel off Oman was struck.
On Thursday. the British military’s report of a hit on a ship following the passage of several tankers along a route supported by the United Nations landed like a stop sign—prompting the head of the International Maritime Organization to pause the U.N. evacuation plan. The halt is meant to last until the agency can confirm safety guarantees for the ships on the evacuation list and for vessels in the region. according to the organization’s leadership.
The reported strike came hours after Iran warned vessels to stop using the route through the strait without Tehran’s permission. Arsenio Dominguez, the U.N. agency’s secretary-general, said the vessel hit was not part of the evacuation effort.
A U.S. official said the merchant vessel Ever Lovely was attacked by an Iranian drone. alleging the drone was being flown by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center reported that the vessel sustained damage. but it recorded no injuries or environmental effects from the attack off the coast of Oman.
The risk of that single strike quickly spilled into shipping operations. After the report of the attack. Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority—described as a new government agency established to control shipping in the strait—wrote on X that transit outside its designated routes “will not be covered by the guarantee of safe passage.”.
In Washington, the practical stakes were already unmistakable. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. visiting the Gulf to reassure American allies. said before the strike report that Washington was committed to the new route and to ensuring ships could transit the strait. “If that stops, then we’re going to have a problem,” Rubio said Thursday.
The timing has particular weight because the United States and Iran are still negotiating an interim peace deal that includes how to handle passage through the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf and what comes next for Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Under a memorandum of understanding signed last week, the U.S. and Iran have 60 days to iron out details.
Negotiations, however, are unfolding under pressure from multiple directions. U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian leaders have appeared to negotiate in public—trading threats and claiming concessions the other side denies—while talks continue behind closed doors.
The shipping thread running through these negotiations is also tied to leverage. The opening of an alternative passage through the vital waterway is described as something that would relieve pressure on the world economy and remove Iran’s main source of leverage in ongoing peace talks with the United States. In the days leading up to the strike, traffic through the strait increased but remained below prewar levels. Oil on Thursday briefly dipped below its last prewar price of just under $73 per barrel. a sign the market viewed the situation as improving.
Routes and counter-routes are at the center of the dispute. Oil tankers. led by the Stoic Warrior vessel. sailed along the United Arab Emirates and then Oman early Thursday. passing by Oman’s Musandam Peninsula fairly close to the shore. The route was laid out by Oman and the International Maritime Organization.
North of that route sits a corridor in the center of the strait where ships moved freely before the war and which transported about a fifth of all the world’s oil and natural gas. Iran said it mined that passage after the U.S. and Israel attacked it on Feb. 28, and at least one mine has been sighted there.
Even with the U.N. evacuation effort operating alongside U.S. military support, freeing trapped ships has been a moving target. Maersk said its container ship, the Maersk Baltimore, and another chartered vessel made it out on Thursday. Last week. 125 vessels crossed the strait. up from 33 the week before. according to marine data and analysis firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence. S&P Global reported that Wednesday saw 78 transits—the most since the war began—still well below the daily prewar average of 130 or more.
Iran is also pressing its position with forceful language. A statement carried by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency quoted naval officials from the Revolutionary Guard warning against the new route. saying it was established without notice or coordination with Iran and calling it “unacceptable and completely dangerous.” The naval force added: “The only authorized route for passing through the Strait of Hormuz is the one declared by the Islamic Republic of Iran. ” and said “Vessel traffic outside these routes is extremely dangerous and prohibited.” It warned “Violators will be dealt with. ” without elaborating.
The message has not stayed abstract. On Wednesday, the Guard threatened one tanker over the radio, with a soldier warning, “You are in range of my missiles and maybe (I) fire on you,” according to the private security firm Ambrey.
All of this is unfolding while a separate flare-up threatens to widen the conflict. Fighting in Lebanon between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants has threatened the wider truce. Lebanon says five people have been killed by Israeli strikes over the past two days. Iran says a tentative deal to end the war would require Israel to withdraw from Lebanon—a condition Israel has rejected.
On Thursday. Lebanon’s health ministry said three people were killed by an Israeli strike on a car in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah has called the recent strikes a ceasefire violation but has not retaliated. Israel said Thursday that it fired on two separate groups it suspected of being Hezbollah members. The strikes came as Lebanese and Israeli officials were in Washington discussing a proposed phased withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon. Israel’s military also said Thursday that a reservist soldier was killed in southern Lebanon.
Taken together, the sequence is stark: Iran warns against using routes without Tehran’s permission, the U.S. tries to keep passage open as part of interim negotiations, and the U.N. pauses its evacuation plan after a strike reported by the British military. In a region where a single channel can carry both commerce and coercion. the question now is how quickly safety assurances can be verified—and whether ships can keep moving without becoming bargaining chips again.
Strait of Hormuz International Maritime Organization Ever Lovely Marco Rubio U.S.-Iran talks Persian Gulf Strait Authority Revolutionary Guard Maersk Baltimore Lebanon Hezbollah Israel
So nobody’s leaving through Hormuz now? Cool cool.
I don’t get it, they were gonna evacuate ships but then ONE strike off Oman and suddenly all of it stops. Sounds like fear, not a plan. Also why is Iran even involved if the UN is trying to help?
Wait, the UN paused it because a British report said a projectile hit something? So we trust the UK but can’t verify ourselves? Sounds like whoever reported it wanted attention. I bet the whole “safety guarantees” thing is just politics while tankers keep rolling.
This is why shipping lanes are scary. One minute they’re like “might ease,” next minute it’s a stop sign. I saw that Iran warned ships not to use it without permission so of course this happens. Honestly I’m surprised nobody blamed the US like immediately.