At least three container ships were hit by gunfire in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, maritime security sources and the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said, hours after the US announced an extension of a ceasefire with Iran.
Iran has imposed restrictions on ships using the strait, first in retaliation for the US-Israeli bombardment of the country, and then in response to a US blockade of Iranian ports.
A Liberia-flagged container ship sustained damage to its bridge after being hit by gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades northeast of Oman.
The UKMTO said the master of the vessel reported being approached by an IRGC gunboat and was subsequently fired upon. All crew members were safe, and there was no fire or environmental impact due to the incident.
Maritime security sources said that three people were on board that gunboat. The master of the Greek-operated container ship also reported that no radio contact was made prior to the incident and that the vessel had been initially informed that it had permission to transit the Strait of Hormuz. The UKMTO later said that a second container vessel had been fired upon about eight nautical miles west of Iran. The Panama-flagged vessel was not damaged and its crew members are safe.
Maritime security sources said that a third container ship was targeted about eight nautical miles west of Iran while transiting outbound of the Strait of Hormuz. The Liberia-flagged vessel, which was not damaged, had stopped in the water. Its crew are safe, the sources said.
Before the war began on 28 February, the waterway typically handled roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supply.
The morning attacks by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) came after President Donald Trump said the US would indefinitely extend the ceasefire with Iran, which had been due to expire on Wednesday, to give Tehran time to come up with a “unified proposal” ahead of possible negotiations.
Iran has offered no formal acknowledgement of Trump’s ceasefire extension.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Trump for agreeing to the extension, saying it would buy time for ongoing diplomatic efforts.
UK hosts talks on Hormuz re-opening
London will host military planners from over 30 countries for two days of talks starting Wednesday on the idea of establishing a multinational mission led by the UK and France to protect navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, the defence ministry said.
The ministry said the meeting would “advance detailed planning” on reopening the Strait when conditions allow, following “progress” at talks in Paris last week.
“The task today and tomorrow is to translate diplomatic consensus into a joint plan to safeguard freedom of navigation in the Strait and support a lasting ceasefire,” Defence Minister John Healey said in a statement.
He said he was confident “real progress can be made”.
The conference comes after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron co-chaired international talks on the strategic strait in Paris on Friday that brought together over 40 countries.
The UK and France said the force would be entirely defensive and only deployed once a lasting peace in the region was agreed, although the US and Iran, as warring parties, did not attend the talks.
President Trump said on Tuesday that Iran was “collapsing financially” over the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
“Iran is collapsing financially! They want the Strait of Hormuz opened immediately,” he wrote on Truth Social, adding that the Islamic Republic was “starving for cash”.
Trump posted earlier that Tehran said it supported the closure of the strait to “save face” under the US blockade of Iranian ports.
Clionadh Raleigh, CEO of conflict monitor ACLED, believes the US blockade has emerged from Washington’s assessment that it can’t immediately address the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, while also putting Iran on a “back foot”.
“The US is really responding to the fact that they don’t believe they can take the Strait. They don’t believe they can sort out this mess that has, that has emerged in the Strait, but the blockade is doing that in a way, and is also really pushing Iran,” Raleigh told The New Arab.
“It has placed Iran on the back foot, which is, I think, exactly what the US needed to do in order for Iran to start making concessions,” she added, highlighting that Iran’s refusal to attend the Pakistan talks on Tuesday indicated its acknowledgement of its weakened negotiating position under the US blockade.
