Advertisement Opinion US-Iran ceasefire can’t paper over fires in the Strait of Hormuz The US blockade is war by another name and must end. Two other things must change for the Iran ceasefire to become genuine diplomacy 3-MIN READ3-MIN Listen Ruqiya Anwar is a PhD scholar of media and communication studies, researcher and socio-political analyst from Pakistan. While the United States and Iran exchange peace proposals in Islamabad, the Middle East remains trapped in a cycle of escalation. Ships burn in the Strait of Hormuz, Lebanon absorbs strikes by Israel and the nuclear gap remains unbridgeable. Calling this moment a ceasefire might be in line with diplomatic language, but on the ground it has the familiar look of war, just repackaged. While US President Donald Trump might have negotiated some sort of ceasefire agreement, the American naval blockade on Iranian ports persists, a move that Iran considers an act of war. The Iranians have made clear they will not open the Strait of Hormuz until the blockade is lifted. On April 21, Trump extended the ceasefire through Truth Social, attributing the lack of a common plan to the divided leadership in Iran. Within 24 hours, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized two commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas. In Tehran’s reading, this was not a ceasefire violation. It was enforcement of one. Advertisement Pakistan has offered its capital as neutral ground. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif put his international reputation on the line trying to get both parties to agree to meet. Their first attempt at talks lasted for 21 hours. The two sides reached some general agreements, but not on two important topics: the Strait of Hormuz and uranium enrichment. A second round of talks was planned but is now in doubt after Trump told his envoys not to travel to Pakistan. Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar could only tweet: “Formal response from Iranian side about confirmation of delegation to attend Islamabad Peace Talks is still awaited.” Advertisement Pakistan cannot bridge this gap alone. It is being asked to mediate between a party demanding steep concessions and a party that refuses to negotiate under active military siege. That is not a gap any host country can close. It requires also the leaders themselves to move, and neither is moving. Advertisement Select Voice Select Speed 1.00x
Advertisement Opinion US-Iran ceasefire can’t paper over fires in the Strait of Hormuz The US blockade is war by another name and must end. Two other things must change for the Iran ceasefire to become genuine diplomacy 3-MIN READ3-MIN Listen Ruqiya Anwar is a PhD scholar of medi…
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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.