Trump chides Iran for ship attack after Tehran insists on control of the strait

Written by: Jana Choukeir, Eman Abouhassira and Jonathan Saul

DUBAI/LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump blamed Iran for an attack on a ship near Oman on Friday and said the ship violated its ceasefire, after Tehran insisted it would control the Strait of Hormuz and warned Gulf countries not to side with Washington.

Thursday’s attack highlighted the fragility of a preliminary agreement to end the Iran war. Two US officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity that Iran opened fire on the ship. Trump said an Iranian drone crashed into the upper deck.

“There was damage, but the Ship was able to continue on its way,” he wrote on Truth Social. “We shot down three other Drones. Frankly, this is a stupid violation of our Armistice Agreement.”

Iran had previously expressed its anger at the “interventionist, irresponsible and provocative” statement of the United States and six Gulf countries, rejecting the claim that they could collect passage fees from ships passing through the strait.

Oman says allied ships may have to pay

“Safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz cannot be guaranteed with ambiguous regulations, parallel routes or decision-making processes that do not take into account Iran’s role as a coastal state,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Garibabadi said in a statement on X. he said.

Bloomberg News said Oman, which is on the opposite side of the strait from Iran, has told its allies that ships passing through Hormuz may have to pay. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.

The foreign minister of the Gulf country United Arab Emirates had his first phone call with his Iranian counterpart since the beginning of the conflict, UAE state news agency WAM said, underlining efforts to overcome tensions.

It was stated that Sheikh Abdullah ‌bin Zayed emphasized the need to ensure freedom of navigation in the strait, where shipping accelerated before a new slowdown after the ship attack.

Iranian state television reported that three foreign tankers, which attempted what it called “unauthorized passage” through the strait, were turned back after a warning from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He did not give further details.

Asked about the issue, a US official said: “We are aware of these reports and are examining them. President Trump was clear that Iran cannot disrupt the free flow of traffic in the strait.”

OIL PRICE IS FALLING

Oil prices fell nearly 3% on Friday, heading for steep weekly losses, despite conflicting comments on last week’s interim deal between Iran and the United States and renewed questions about the strait through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies pass.

Saudi Aramco resumed crude oil shipments from its Ras Tanura terminal in the Gulf, the world’s largest oil port, on Friday after a nearly four-month halt, shipping data showed.

The increase in fertilizer shipments through the Bosphorus also helped reduce concerns about the increase in global food prices.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who wrapped up a Gulf tour to reassure regional allies about the interim agreement, issued a “joint statement” with the Gulf Cooperation Council calling for “free, unconditional and unrestricted navigation” in the strait without tolls or “attempts to assert control”.

Iran’s foreign ministry responded on Friday, saying the US military presence in the Gulf was a source of regional insecurity and division and that the strait should be administered by Iran and Oman in accordance with the terms of the interim agreement.

The statement said, “We warn against the continuation of hostile and interventionist policies in the region.”

Tehran took effective control of the waterway after the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran on February 28. Iranian forces also opened fire on Israel and Gulf states that host US bases, and Iran-aligned Hezbollah militants opened fire on Israel from Lebanon, reigniting the conflict there.

Ali Akbar Velayati, a top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, warned Washington’s Gulf allies that their survival depends on Tehran’s tolerance.

Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine said in a statement early Friday that its Singapore-flagged ship Ever Lovely was hit near Oman by an “unknown object” on Thursday while on a route recommended by British naval agency UKMTO. No one was injured, and the ship continued its journey out of the Bosphorus.

The UN Maritime Organization said it was working to continue the evacuation of ships stranded in the strait after the attack halted the process.

Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Administration, established by Tehran to manage requests for ships to pass through the strait, said passage through unauthorized routes would be “the responsibility of the ship owner, operator and ship commander.”

Trump warned this month that if Iran did not honor the interim agreement, including reopening the strait, the United States would likely return to bombing the country.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said that three South Korean ships will leave the strait over the weekend after the Ministry of Oceans reported that eight more South Korean ships left.

ISRAEL DROPS A STATEMENT IN SOUTHERN LEBANON

Disagreements continue over framework elements of the ceasefire agreement, including financial incentives for Iran, nuclear inspections and Israel’s parallel war against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The agreement opened 60 days of negotiations to resolve more challenging issues, including Iran’s nuclear program.

Following the talks in Washington on Friday, Rubio announced that a separate framework agreement was signed between Israel and Lebanon and said there was much work to be done in the future. Israel said it was a performance-based tripartite agreement with the United States, but no detailed information was provided yet.

Israel said it would keep its troops in what it called a “buffer zone” in southern Lebanon to prevent Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel. Iran wants a full Israeli withdrawal and says the ceasefire in Lebanon is an integral part of its interim agreement with the United States to halt hostilities.

(Additional reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Jasper Ward in Washington, Gram Slattery in Manama and Enas Alashray in Cairo; Writing by Gareth Jones and Philippa Fletcher; Editing by Aidan Lewis and Timothy Heritage)