A cargo vessel was hit by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, hours after US President Donald Trump claimed the strategic waterway could reopen within days through ongoing negotiations with Iran.
The incident occurred in waters off the coast of Oman as Trump insisted diplomatic talks were advancing, despite flat denials from Tehran that any negotiations are taking place.
Britain’s maritime security agency UKMTO confirmed the vessel was struck but has not released details about the ship’s identity, the extent of damage or whether there were casualties. Authorities are investigating the attack.
The strait, which serves as a critical passage for global oil and gas supplies, has become the focal point of the conflict between Washington and Tehran since war broke out on 28 February following surprise US and Israeli attacks on Iran.
Control over key waterway remains disputed
Iran has maintained an effective blockade of the strait and demands that vessels coordinate crossings with Iranian authorities and follow a route along the Iranian coastline. The country seeks to maintain control over the waterway and charge tolls, powers it did not exercise before the war and which the United States firmly opposes.
Many ships have opted for a southern route near Oman on the opposite side of the strait to avoid Iranian waters.
Speaking from the White House on Monday, Trump (80) said talks with Iran could lead to Hormuz reopening “literally by tomorrow”, though he acknowledged that denuclearisation of Iran would “take a little while”.
He claimed to have agreed to continue pursuing talks at the request of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and other countries, saying: “We are talking right now.”
Iran denies negotiations taking place
Iran’s foreign ministry has categorically denied that negotiations with Washington are underway. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Tehran is negotiating a new route with Muscat but insisted this was not about reopening Hormuz.
Trump earlier called Tehran “duplicitous” on social media for denying the talks. “Whether Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused, for decades,” he wrote.
The US president said he expected to know by Tuesday how the talks were progressing, “one way or the other”, describing the situation as “not very complex”.
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War drags into sixth month
More than five months after the conflict began, Iran retains the capability to fire missiles and drones at US and allied targets across the region and maintains its enriched uranium stockpiles.
The United States has imposed a counter-blockade on Iranian ports. “Nothing gets through to Iran, unless we want it to, and nothing will get through, unless a Deal, or Total Surrender, is accomplished,” Trump said.
Last week, Trump threatened to hit Iran “very hard”, potentially targeting civilian infrastructure, before pulling back on Saturday and claiming the “perimeters” of a deal were in place. He warned on Monday that this was Iran’s “last chance before decapitation”.
Despite a ceasefire and preliminary deal in the months following the initial attacks, diplomatic efforts have failed to end the war, which has cost Washington billions of dollars.
Trump has placed particular focus on ending Iran’s nuclear programme, which Western nations say is aimed at developing atomic weapons. Tehran maintains it is a civilian programme.
