UN agency pauses ship evacuations through strait of Hormuz after vessel struck | Strait of Hormuz

The United Nations agency halted the evacuation of ships from the Strait of Hormuz after the British military said a ship was hit by a shell off the coast of Oman after several tankers using a UN-supported route passed.

A plan to move stranded ships from the Persian Gulf through the strait will remain on hold until the agency confirms safety guarantees for ships on its evacuation list and in the area, the head of the U.N. International Maritime Organization said Thursday.

It was not clear who fired the projectile or the type of ship targeted. News of the attack came just hours after Iran threatened to stop ships from using the route through the strait without Tehran’s permission.

Arsenio Dominguez, secretary-general of the U.N. agency, said the ship that was attacked was not part of the evacuation effort.

Following news of the attack, Iran’s Persian Gulf strait administration (a new government agency established to control shipping in the strait) wrote to X that transits outside its designated routes “will not be covered by the guarantee of safe passage.”

The UK Merchant Marine Operations center said the ship was damaged but no injuries or environmental impacts were reported from the attack off the coast of Oman.

Opening an alternative passage through the vital waterway would ease pressure on the world economy and remove Iran’s main source of influence in ongoing peace talks with the United States. During his visit to the Gulf to reassure US allies, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was determined to ensure that ships can pass through the strait and the new route.

“If this stops, then we’re going to have a problem,” Rubio said Thursday before the report of the attack on the ship.

Traffic in the Bosphorus has increased in recent days but was still well below pre-war levels. Oil briefly fell below its last pre-war price of just under $73 a barrel on Thursday; This is a sign that the market believes the situation is improving.

The United States and Iran are still debating the terms of an interim peace deal that would include moving ships through the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf and addressing the future of Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile.

Under the memorandum of understanding signed last week, the United States and Iran have 60 days to finalize the details. While talks are being held behind closed doors, US president Donald Trump and Iranian leaders appear to be negotiating in public, issuing threats and demanding concessions that the other side rejects.

Meanwhile, the flare-up of clashes between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon threatened a broader ceasefire. Lebanon said five people were killed in Israeli attacks in the past two days. Iran said the interim agreement to end the war would require Israel to withdraw from Lebanon; Israel rejected this condition.

The oil tankers, led by the Stoic Warrior, set out early Thursday through the United Arab Emirates and then Oman, passing Oman’s Musandam peninsula very close to the coast. The route was determined by Oman and the International Maritime Organization.

To the north of the route is a corridor in the middle of the strait, where ships moved freely before the war, carrying approximately one fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas.

Iran said it mined the pass after the US and Israel attacked on February 28. At least one mine was seen there.

Although some ships were exiting the strait with US military support, the UN agency’s effort was the last effort to free the trapped ships. Shipping company Maersk said the container ship Maersk Baltimore and another chartered ship departed on Thursday.

According to maritime data and analysis firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence, 125 ships passed through the strait last week, up from 33 last week.

According to S&P Global, there were 78 crossings on Wednesday; this was the highest number since the beginning of the war, but still below the pre-war daily average of 130 or more.

Naval arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) It issued a warning against using the new route on Thursday.

In a statement by Iran’s state-owned IRNA news agency, naval officials said the route was created without prior notice or coordination with Iran, calling it “unacceptable and completely dangerous.”

“The only route allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz is the route declared by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the Iranian force said. “Ship traffic outside these routes is extremely dangerous and prohibited.”

The statement said, “Action will be taken against violators,” without giving details.

The Revolutionary Guard threatened a tanker on Wednesday with a military warning over the radio: “You are in range of my missiles and maybe (I) will open fire on you,” according to private security firm Ambrey.

Rubio met with foreign ministers of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council and assured them that their interests would be protected in any deal with Iran.

These countries, including major energy producers that depend on the Strait for export, were attacked by Iran after the start of the war.

“There is nothing in this agreement that in any way undermines the security, stability or prosperity of any of our partners in the Gulf region,” Rubio said at the meeting in Bahrain.

Bahrain’s foreign minister, Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani, said the agreement brought a glimmer of hope but stressed that “it is critical for Iran to comply with its obligations.”