Ship reported seized off UAE as more vessels transit Strait of Hormuz

A fresh maritime seizure near the United Arab Emirates sharpened tensions around the Strait of Hormuz today, as a British naval monitoring agency said a vessel had been taken and was heading toward Iranian waters while the US and Chinese presidents met in Beijing for talks that included the Iran war.

Following the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, a White House official said both men agreed the Strait of Hormuz must remain open and that Iran must never acquire nuclear weapons.

Beijing remains one of Tehran’s closest partners and the leading purchaser of Iranian oil. Since the US-Israeli war on Iran began on 28 February, Iran has largely closed the strait to all but its own shipping, triggering what has become the most severe disruption to global energy supplies on record.

Last month, the US halted its bombing campaign but tightened pressure by imposing a blockade on Iran’s ports.

Before fighting erupted, roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas moved through the narrow waterway.

Efforts to revive diplomacy have stalled since last week, when both Iran and the United States rejected each other’s latest proposals to end the conflict.

In the latest violence along the trade corridor, an Indian cargo ship transporting livestock from Africa to the United Arab Emirates was sunk in waters off Oman.

India denounced the attack and said all 14 crew members were rescued by the Omani coastguard.

Banguard, a British maritime security advisory firm, said the vessel was believed to have been struck by either a missile or a drone, causing an explosion.

In a separate incident, Britain’s maritime security agency UKMTO reported today that “unauthorised personnel” had boarded a ship anchored off Fujairah, a port on the coast of the United Arab Emirates, and were steering it toward Iran.

“The company security officer reported that the vessel was taken by Iranian personnel while at anchor,” Vanguard said.

The area carries particular strategic importance because Fujairah is the UAE’s only oil export terminal located beyond the strait, allowing some shipments to reach global buyers without transiting the chokepoint.

Iran underscored that sensitivity last week when it released an expanded map showing the stretch of coastline among waters it says fall under its control.

A map issued by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps on 4 May claiming control over the Strait of Hormuz

Even so, Iran appears to be striking more arrangements with foreign governments to permit limited passage through the strait, provided vessels comply with Tehran’s conditions.

A Japanese tanker made the crossing yesterday after Japan’s prime minister said she had appealed to the Iranian president for assistance.

A large Chinese tanker also passed through yesterday, and Iran’s Fars news agency reported today that a deal had been reached allowing some Chinese vessels to transit.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said 30 vessels had crossed the strait since yesterday evening. That would still be well below the roughly 140 ships that used the passage each day before the war, but it would mark a notable increase if confirmed.

Shipping analytics firm Kpler, however, said about 10 ships had sailed through the strait in the past 24 hours, only slightly above the five to seven vessels a day seen in recent weeks.

Iran’s Judiciary Spokesperson Asghar Jahangir said today that the seizure of “US tankers” accused of violating Iranian regulations was being conducted under both domestic and international law.

Iranian threat ‘significantly degraded’

US Admiral Brad Cooper (file image)

Thousands of Iranians were killed in US and Israeli airstrikes during the opening weeks of the war, while thousands more have died in Lebanon after the conflict reignited fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah.

Lebanese and Israeli envoys were meeting US officials in Washington today as part of efforts to halt that violence.

There has been scant progress toward ending the war in Iran since negotiators held a single round of talks in Pakistan last month.

Mr Trump has said his objectives in launching the war were to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme, eliminate its ability to strike neighbouring states and make it easier for Iranians to overthrow their government.

Testifying before a Senate committee today, a senior US admiral said Iran’s capacity to menace its neighbours and American interests across the region had been sharply weakened.

“Iran has a significantly degraded threat, and they no longer threaten regional partners, or the United States, in ways that they were able to do before, across every domain,” Admiral Brad Cooper said. “They’ve been significantly degraded.”

Cooper did not directly answer reports that Iran, which had stockpiled weapons in underground sites, still retained substantial missile and drone capabilities.

Iran’s leadership, which used force to suppress anti-government protests earlier this year, has faced no organised domestic opposition since the war began. Its closure of the strait has also handed Tehran added leverage in negotiations.

Washington is pressing Tehran to surrender its uranium stockpile and abandon any further enrichment. Iran, for its part, is demanding sanctions relief, compensation for war damage and recognition of its control over the strait.

Mr Cooper was also asked whether the US could permanently reopen the strait.

In reply, he said: “Without getting into specifics we have the military power, yes.”

Asked about Iran’s remaining ability to launch attacks in the region, he said: “They have a very moderate, if not small, capability to continue strikes and we, of course, have accordingly prepared for such a contingency.”

He was pressed by Democratic committee member senator Elissa Slotkin, who asked: “But if we have the power to militarily open the strait and their threat is, quote, moderate or small, why wouldn’t we just do it?”

Admiral Cooper said: “I really would defer to policymakers in this particular matter.”

He added that the strait remained at the centre of ongoing negotiations.