(2 June 2026 22:27 BST)
US forces fired a missile at a ship that was attempting to sail to an Iranian port in violation of an American blockade, disabling the vessel, the US military said on Tuesday.
The Botswana-flagged M/T Lexie – an unladen oil tanker – „ignored repeated warnings“ over a 24-hour period, and an American warplane „ultimately disabled the vessel by firing a Hellfire missile into the ship‘s engine room“, the US military‘s Central Command said in a statement.
(today)
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei has condemned the US attack on areas near Iran’s Bandar Abbas, and expressed solidarity with Oman after “US officials’ threats” in a statement delivered on Thursday.
This follows US President Donald Trump’s threats to “blow up” Oman if it joins Iran in imposing fees on the Strait of Hormuz.
“The Strait is going to be open to everybody,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “It’s international waters and Oman will behave just like everybody else or we’ll have to blow them up. They understand that, they’ll be fine.”
Oman, a strategic partner of the U.S. for more than 50 years, has played a key role in efforts to mediate a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran.
The reported draft agreement said Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz in return for the United States’ lifting its naval blockade.
The US military says it “redirected” 109 commercial vessels in the Arabian Sea to enforce President Trump’s blockade of ships travelling to and from Iranian ports via the Strait of Hormuz.
The blockade of the strait and Gulf of Oman began on April 13 and has provoked an energy crisis with severe global economic consequences
India is hosting the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on May 14-15 under its current presidency of the grouping, with foreign ministers and senior representatives from member and partner countries expected to attend. The meeting is being viewed as a key preparatory exercise ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit scheduled in New Delhi in September.
In the “Potential Strike on Iran by June” market, the likelihood of a strike by the UK, France, or Germany is currently priced at 4.3% YES, showing minimal change from previous days. In parallel, the “Warships Through Strait of Hormuz by May 31” market reflects a 12% YES probability for UK warships passing through, maintaining the same level as 24 hours ago.
Großbritannien und Frankreich veranstalten am Dienstag eine Videokonferenz zur Absicherung der Schifffahrt in der Straße von Hormuz. Über 40 Staaten sollen an dem Treffen teilnehmen. Dabei werden militärische Beiträge zur Wiedereröffnung und Sicherung der Straße von Hormuz besprochen, sobald die Umstände dies zulassen. Verteidigungsministerin Claudia Tanner (ÖVP) ist nicht unter den Teilnehmenden.
Talks between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper focused on reopening the Strait of Hormuz ahead of a meeting involving defence ministers from around 40 countries, according to the United States Department of State.
The discussions come amid continued disruption to global shipping and energy flows linked to the conflict involving Iran.
British Defence Secretary John Healey and French counterpart Catherine Vautrin are expected to co-chair the coalition meeting later on Tuesday.
The report said Tehran would hand over nuclear material to a third country, provided it receives guarantees that the stockpile would be returned if talks collapse or if Washington withdraws from any agreement.
Iran also signalled it could gradually reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial traffic in parallel with a lifting of the US maritime blockade, with nuclear issues to be negotiated over a 30-day period.
According to the report, Tehran is prepared to suspend uranium enrichment for a limited time, though for a shorter duration than the 20 years sought by Washington.
(May 6, 2026)
Trump surprised Gulf allies by announcing “Project Freedom” on social media Sunday afternoon, the officials said, angering leadership in Saudi Arabia. In response, the Kingdom informed the U.S. it would not allow the U.S. military to fly aircraft from Prince Sultan Airbase southeast of Riyadh or fly through Saudi airspace to support the effort, the officials said.
A call between Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman did not resolve the issue, the two U.S. officials said, forcing the president to pause Project Freedom in order to restore U.S. military access to the critical airspace.
Hegseth later clarified that „the ceasefire is not over“ even though Iranian vessels on Monday fired on U.S. ships guiding vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in the U.S. sinking several small Iranian boats.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said Iran had attacked the U.S. „more than 10 times“ since the April 8 ceasefire, but it „fell below the threshold of restarting major combat operations.“
“To be clear, this operation is separate and distinct from Operation Epic Fury,” Hegseth said. “Project Freedom is defensive in nature, focused in scope and temporary in duration, with one mission: Protecting innocent commercial shipping from Iranian aggression.”
The secretary said two US commercial vessels have moved through the strait and six other ships that attempted to violate the blockade of Iranian ports “were all turned around.”
The ship, M/V Touska, connected to the sanctioned Iran Shipping Lines, was intercepted by US forces on April 19 near Iran’s Chabahar port in the Gulf of Oman. According to US Central Command, the flagged vessel ignored repeated warnings for nearly six hours before American forces boarded and took control, accusing it of violating a US-imposed naval blockade on Iranian ports.
US officials confirmed that 22 crew members have now been handed over to Pakistan for repatriation, while six others—identified by Iranian state media as family members, were quietly transferred to another country days earlier. The vessel itself is in the process of being returned to its original owners.
Das Minenjagdboot „Fulda“ der deutschen Marine soll am Mittag den Marinestützpunkt Kiel in Richtung Mittelmeer verlassen – für einen möglichen Einsatz in der Straße von Hormus. Dafür bräuchte es aber ein Bundestagsmandat.
“We will maintain and manage the security of the Strait of Hormuz with all our might and we announce to all commercial ships and tankers to refrain from any action to transit without the coordination of the armed forces stationed in the Strait of Hormuz so that their security is not jeopardised,” the military said.
“We warn that any foreign armed force, especially the aggressive US army, will be attacked if they attempt to approach and enter the Strait of Hormuz.”
Analysts do not expect the destroyers to be escorting merchant ship convoys through the strait.
The mission, beginning Monday, “will support merchant vessels seeking to freely transit through the essential international trade corridor,” CENTCOM said in a statement Sunday evening.
“Our support for this defensive mission is essential to regional security and the global economy as we also maintain the naval blockade,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander.
US military support for the effort will include guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 land- and sea-based aircraft, and 15,000 service members, the statement said.
A US official told CNN that “Project Freedom” is not an escort mission.
President Trump formally informed Congress in a letter Friday that the ongoing ceasefire with Iran extended the timeline between the start of the war and the 60-day deadline invoked by the War Powers Act.
Friday marks 60 days since the president officially notified lawmakers of the U.S. military’s operations in Iran that began on Feb. 28.
According to the War Powers Act of 1973, by Day 60 of being notified of a conflict, the president must come to Congress to formally declare war or seek approval of military action. The president can also request a 30-day extension of the conflict if needed to safely draw down troops, according to the law.
The Wall Street Journal has obtained leaked diplomatic cables showing that the US plans to form a “Maritime Freedom Architecture” coalition to restart shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The plan focuses on intelligence sharing, diplomatic coordination, and simultaneous sanctions.
Welche Länder teilnehmen sollen und ob etwa Deutschland angefragt wurde, wurde nicht bekannt gegeben.
Nach Informationen des Wall Street Journal handelt es sich nicht um eine militärische Koalition. Die US-Botschaften im Ausland seien jedoch gebeten worden, ihre jeweiligen Ansprechpartner zu fragen, ob sie in der neuen Allianz ein „diplomatischer und/oder militärischer Partner“ sein möchten.
Thousands of containers sit idle at Karachi port, their journey halted by ongoing instability in the Strait of Hormuz.
The “Transit of Goods through Territory of Pakistan Order 2026” took effect on April 25, formally designating six specific land corridors. These routes now allow third-country cargo destined for Iran to move securely across Pakistani soil, backed by strict customs safeguards.
(April 27, 2026)
Sources close to these diplomatic efforts told Al Jazeera that senior intelligence officials from several countries were present at the Muscat talks.
(April 24, 2026)
Vice president of finance Víctor Vial confirmed that while certain vessels have recently paid more than $1m to secure a crossing, such sums reflect temporary spikes in demand rather than structural pricing shifts. Before the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East, average auction prices ran between $135,000 and $140,000. That figure rose some 180% to around $385,000 between March and April as demand surged.
The canal makes three to five slots available each day through its auction mechanism, aimed at vessels that have not booked in advance.