UN pauses Hormuz operation after ship reports attack
The United Nations’ International Maritime Organization halted an operation to escort ships in the Strait of Hormuz after a ship reported an attack, reigniting fears about a preliminary deal to end the Iran war.
British naval agency UKMTO said the cargo ship had been hit by a shell near Oman, hours after Iran warned ships not to follow routes it did not approve.
While two US officials told Reuters that Iran opened fire on the ship, Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Administration, which was established to manage requests for ships to pass through the strait, said that safe passage would not be guaranteed to ships outside the routes it had determined.
Four sources identified the ship as the Singapore-flagged Ever Lovely.
A security source said he was likely targeted by a drone.
There was no immediate comment from the US government.
US President Donald Trump warned earlier this month that if Iran did not comply with an agreement aimed at ending the war and reopening the strait, the US would likely return to bombing the country.
Since the start of the war in late February, IMO has been helping to remove hundreds of stranded ships and thousands of sailors from the strait, where they have been stranded for months.
In a statement, IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez decided to “temporarily suspend the exercise in order to reaffirm that the necessary safety guarantees are in place for the ships on our evacuation list and for all ships in the region.”
The IMO said the ship involved in the suspected attack was not part of its programme.
The initiative, launched on Tuesday, was a voluntary option for ships and their crews to sail from the Gulf under US supervision using two routes – one through Iranian waters, the other through Omani waters, the IMO said this week.
UKMTO WARNING 074-26 – ATTACK Click here to view the full alert.⤵️ https://t.co/0hDEAb7xO9#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/HlPzQDLBja — UKMTO Operations Center (@UK_MTO) June 25, 2026
Benchmark oil prices rose 1.9 percent after the reported attack, which analysts said reignited concerns about how long it will take for Gulf oil flows to return to normal levels.
The Oman incident is likely to refocus attention on the extent of Iran’s future control over the Strait of Hormuz, which before the conflict supplied one-fifth of the world’s daily supply of oil and liquefied natural gas.
Before the incident, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who completed his Gulf trip to reassure states about the interim agreement, told reporters that if Iran threatened or blocked ships in the strait, “then we will have a problem.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said on Thursday that safe passage through the strait is only possible through the routes determined by Iran and that it will take action against ships that do not comply with these rules.
UK maritime security company Ambrey said the Revolutionary Guard ordered two Panama-flagged ships to change course on Thursday.
Earlier, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said shipments through the strait were approaching levels recorded before the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran on February 28, with at least 20 million barrels of oil leaving the waterway in the previous 24 hours.
