Australia to join 40 countries in talks to potentially deploy defensive naval coalition to Strait of Hormuz Australia will join 40 countries in international talks to mull over taking a major step to re-open the Strait of Hormuz. Australia will take part in discussions about a potential defensive naval mission to the Strait of Hormuz alongside 40 other nations, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy says. The Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed by Tehran after the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. This closure has triggered global energy shocks by causing disruption to crude oil shipments from the Middle East, the world’s largest oil-producing region. This week’s talks will be hosted by the United Kingdom and France, after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer held the first round of discussions in early April. In a statement released overnight, French President Emmanuel Macron described the potential mission as a “peaceful multinational” effort aimed at “restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait”. “This strictly defensive mission, separate from the warring parties to the conflict, is intended to be deployed as soon as circumstances permit,” he wrote on social media. On Tuesday, Mr Conroy confirmed Australia would take part in the international conference. “We’ve been part of the diplomatic efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. We welcome the announcement of the summit by the UK and French governments,” Mr Conroy told the ABC. “And Australia will most definitely participate in that summit, we are very keen to see an opening by diplomatic means, on the Strait of Hormuz.” He reiterated Australia’s calls for de-escalation and said the federal government wanted to see the current two-week ceasefire continue. “We’d like to see Iran and United States return to the negotiating table, and a permanent peace achieved, with the Strait of Hormuz open, so that traffic flows through” he said. “We think the US has achieved its war aims, and we should continue to encourage a diplomatic opening of the Strait of Hormuz.” Overnight, Donald Trump confirmed a US military blockade of the waterways had taken effect. It follows failed peace talks mediated by Islamabad over the weekend. More to come.
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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.