Cairo: An Iranian cargo vessel was struck early Sunday off Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media said, and Tehran postponed a plan to brief neighbouring countries on its contested efforts to manage shipping in the strait.
The attack drew attention back to the strait after threats to shipping in the Red Sea intensified last week. Iran-backed Houthi rebels battling government forces in Yemen captured an island on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial shipping alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency quoted the Qeshm governor as blaming a “terrorist enemy” for Sunday’s attack, which it said killed one and wounded four.
There was no immediate comment by the US military, which has struck Iranian-flagged vessels during its blockade of Iranian ports and faces a new threat from Iranian ballistic missiles launched at its warships.
Qeshm Island, about 22 kilometres from the port city of Bandar Abbas, is key to Iran asserting control over the Strait of Hormuz.
Hours before the attack, Iran’s government remained defiant. “Our people can’t be bullied into submission. Iran won’t surrender,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a social media post.
US President Donald Trump disagreed, saying on Sunday that Iran “wants to make a deal so bad” that “they’re calling constantly.” Trump spoke at his golf course in Doonbeg, Ireland, where he was attending a tournament.
Later, when asked by a reporter whether the US struck the Iranian cargo vessel early Sunday in the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said, “I don’t want to say.” He then boarded Air Force One to head back to Washington.
Iran aims to brief regional countries on the strait
Iran had said foreign ministers from regional countries would meet Monday in Oman to discuss efforts by Iran and Oman, located on the other side of the strait, to manage shipping on it. But the foreign minister of Oman, Badr Albusaidi, said on X late Sunday that the meeting had been postponed “in the interests of consensus.”
Iran and Oman agreed to postpone the talks “at the request of some regional countries,” said Mohammad Ali Bak, an official in Iran’s foreign ministry who was quoted by IRNA on X.
Saudi Arabia has submitted amendments to the Iran-Oman agreement, citing concerns that the emerging deal could have lasting implications for the Strait of Hormuz that could negatively impact other Gulf Cooperation Council countries, according to a Gulf official familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Commercial ship traffic remains low in the Strait of Hormuz as attacks continue on what was seen as an international waterway before the US and Israel launched the war on February 28.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations monitor said Sunday that a vessel was hit by a projectile while transiting the strait, though it was not clear if this was referring to the attack Iran had reported off Qeshm. The monitor said a severe fire had broken out and that local authorities were evacuating those on board.
The US has asserted that plenty of oil is getting out as its military helps to guide ships along Oman’s coast, at the risk of being struck.
Before the meeting in Oman was postponed, only Iraq had publicly confirmed plans to attend. Bahrain had said it would not attend, citing a lack of diplomatic relations with Tehran.
Since early in the war, Iran has expressed interest in having ships pay fees for transit. It has said traffic into the Persian Gulf would pass through Iranian waters, while the outbound route would pass partly through Iranian waters and partly through Oman’s.
There had been some optimism in the region about the planned meeting, with hope that Gulf nations might use it to assert a collective response to a war they had no part in starting. For months, they have faced Iranian attacks that Tehran has claimed target US military assets on their lands.
On Sunday, Iran’s president said he had a “good talk” over the weekend with a top official from the United Arab Emirates on the sidelines of a global summit of leading developing nations.
Iran has fired thousands of missiles and drones at the Gulf country, a close US ally.
Pezeshkian said he met with Abu Dhabi’s crown prince, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed, while attending the BRICs summit in New Delhi.
“We talked about the issues of concern so that it’s possible to put the past behind us, to look toward the future and how we can build the future together,” Pezeshkian said.
