Trump claims Iran made new contact for a deal, as the first hours of the US blockade in the Strait of Hormuz show an apparent cautious approach from all sides as the fragile ceasefire is still holding. But China announces its own shipping transit agreement with Iran, warning the US not to interfere. The US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by 15 warships has begun amid a tense but cautious standoff, as evidenced by the level of maritime traffic, and with no reports of military engagement, as the fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran is still holding. Oil prices keep rising and falling amid messages between the US, Iran and other actors, as markets watch the state of the ceasefire and developments in the Strait of Hormuz. Hours after the US blockade began, US President Donald Trump announced that Iran had made contact, claiming that Tehran wants a deal “very badly” after the collapse of the weekend talks in Pakistan and after he warned on his social media that Iranian ships threatening the US-led Hormuz blockade “would be eliminated”. On Tuesday morning Pakistan announced it is working on a possible new round of talks between the US and Iran. “I can tell you we’ve been called by the other side. They would like to make a deal very badly … We have been called this morning by the right people, the appropriate people,” Trump said late Monday. The US blockade of Iranian ports and Iranian ships began late Monday, with the US Central Command (CENTCOM) stating that US forces will allow navigation to or from non-Iranian ports as the blockade focuses on maritime traffic entering or leaving any Iranian ports, including Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Accepting Iran's 'protection racket' Iran has warned that it would respond to the US blockade of Iranian ports, threatening that no ports in the region “will be safe” if Iranian ports are “threatened.” Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) warned in a statement to semi-official Tasnim news agency that “all traffic… is under the full control of the armed forces,” adding that “any wrong move will trap the enemy in deadly whirlpools in the strait.” According to the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank's observations, the US Navy is attempting to prevent Iranian and Iranian-approved vessels from entering and exiting the strait. Meanwhile, Iran prevents all other vessels from entering or exiting the strait, and the only ships moving through it are Iranian and Iranian-approved vessels. "These Iranian-approved vessels are acceding to Iran’s protection racket and using Iran’s unilaterally imposed traffic separation scheme that forces vessels into Iranian territorial waters," the ISW said. "Very few ships are transiting the strait other than the ships moving through Iran’s territorial waters," the think tank explained, adding that “Iran has used threats of attacks and a limited number of mines to declare a "hazardous area" across the entire waterway except for Iranian territorial waters, where Iran then imposes fees. Beijing brokers Tehran deal As the US enforcement of Hormuz begins, China has signalled that it has worked out its own agreement with Iran to allow for its much-needed oil shipments to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and it warned the US directly not to interfere. Chinese Defence Minister Admiral Dong Jun announced that China has “trade and energy agreements with Iran and we expect others not to interfere in our affairs. » “Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz, and it is open for us,” the Chinese defence minister said in a sign of recognising Iran’s claims that it controls maritime traffic in the strait. Chinese tanker Rich Starry did pass through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday morning, shipping data show, but it departed from the UAE port of Sharjah and was therefore not subject to the US blockade. Shipping data shows that two other China-bound tankers attempted to enter Hormuz but then turned back.
Trump claims Iran made new contact for a deal, as the first hours of the US blockade in the Strait of Hormuz show an apparent cautious approach from all sides as the fragile ceasefire is still holding. But China announces its own shipping transit agreement with Iran, warning the …
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A tanker identified as the Kaifan was struck by an unknown projectile northeast of Oman’s Limah in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a July 21 report from UK Maritime Trade Operations. No ships were observed transiting the strait that day. Attribution of the strike and links to prior incidents have not been confirmed by the vessel’s owner.
Goldman Sachs has projected Brent crude averaging $80 per barrel in the fourth quarter and $75 in the following year, conditional on reduced Middle East tensions, while noting upside risks from potential shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz or Red Sea.
Brent prices rose above $91 per barrel amid recent U.S.-Iran exchanges and Houthi threats to Saudi shipments before edging lower on Tuesday. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that mediators had proposed a 10-day ceasefire to preserve an interim agreement.
Opening summary: Iran claims attacks on strait of Hormuz ships amid fresh US strikes Welcome to our live coverage of the latest developments in the Middle East crisis. Iran attacked a tanker in the strait of Hormuz early on Tuesday, forcing its crew to abandon the ship, as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis announced they were imposing an immediate maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea after the two sides traded fire last week for the first time in years.
A Houthi official said the Bab al-Mandeb strait – at the southern end of the Red Sea, through which about 12% of the world’s trade usually passes – would be closed to the Saudis in response to the kingdom’s “unjust blockade on Yemenis for over 10 years”.
Saudi Arabia said it would take “all necessary measures to protect its vessels in accordance with international law”. A 10 consecutive night of US airstrikes has not compelled Tehran to loosen its grip on the strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global energy supplies.
But even as Iran’s president said the country had returned “full-scale war”, the Iranian interior minister travelled to Pakistan – a key mediator in the conflict – for talks. In key developments: The latest US strikes came hours after Donald Trump said Iran would pay “many times over” for killing US soldiers after multiple service members were killed in action over the weekend.
A tanker came under attack early Tuesday in the Hormuz strait off Oman, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed the attack as well as two other attacks on ships in the waterway on Monday.
The US military’s Central Command said its latest airstrikes were to “degrade” Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping in the strait and included hitting military command centres and missile and drone launch sites. Iranian media reported strikes in parts of the country including Bandar Abbas, Tabriz and Bushehr, home to the country’s only operational civilian nuclear power.
Iran’s launched attacks in response against Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, which all host US forces. Oil prices softened after hitting their highest levels in more than a month in the previous session. Brent crude futures eased 0.4% to $88.87 a barrel by 0052 GMT on Tuesday while US West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was steady at $82.
47 a barrel. Democrats have seized on the deaths of three US troops killed in Iranian strikes to urge Trump to urgently reverse his resumption of the war with Iran amid widespread anxiety over climbing casualties. The Lebanese army began taking charge of security in three southern villages, the US said, as a deal to secure an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah faced its first test on the ground.
US forces struck the tanker Settebello in the Gulf of Oman on June 10, killing three Indian crew members when munitions hit the engine room and adjacent areas. Maritime tracking data indicate the vessel had transported Iranian oil under US sanctions for several years and conducted offshore transfers prior to the strike.
The US military described the action as a precision operation, while reports note the ship was stationary at the time.