The Strait of Hormuz

July 16, 2026 3:30 PM

Fewer vessels travel through Hormuz after US resumes blockade

Fewer vessels travelled through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, the first day after the U.S. reimposed its naval blockade on Iranian ports with both countries escalating strikes across the Gulf, shipping data showed. Nine vessels crossed the strait on Wednesday, mostly on the Iranian route, down from 13 the previous day, Kpler data showed. There were no Very Large Crude Carrier or liquefied natural gas tankers visibly passing through the strait on Wednesday. U.S. Central Command said on We...

July 16, 2026 1:52 PM

Iran warns Strait of Hormuz is a ‘red line’ and will resist until the end

Iran said on Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz was an inviolable "red line", warning that if U.S. President Donald Trump carried out his threat to attack Iran's infrastructure, it would strike all infrastructure across the Gulf region. The U.S. launched a fifth night of attacks on Wednesday and reimposed a naval blockade of Iran's ports, which Washington says is aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz, closed by Iran last Saturday after a fragile truce collapsed. After the first strikes on We...

July 15, 2026 3:02 PM

After Hormuz, Iran turns to Red Sea gateway as new pressure point

Having choked off shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, Iran is now signaling it could play its most dangerous card yet: using Yemen's Houthi allies to shut the Bab el-Mandeb gateway to the Red Sea, opening a new front against Washington and putting two of the world's most vital energy arteries at risk. As U.S. strikes deepen inside Iran and Houthi attacks escalate in tandem, analysts say Tehran is widening the conflict and seeking to increase pressure on Washington by extending the threat to ...

July 9, 2026 11:20 AM

How Iran’s ‘golden weapon’ of Hormuz became a bigger priority than its long-disputed nuclear programme

Control over the Strait of Hormuz has become a “golden weapon” to Iran, for which it is willing to risk new escalations with the United States, and is a bigger priority than a nuclear programme for which it accepted decades of sanctions. So central is the issue to Iranian strategy that ships passing the Strait without Tehran’s approval were fired upon this week, leading to an exchange of fire with the United States that threatens last month’s interim peace deal. Iranian leaders, who ha...

July 9, 2026 9:21 AM

US military carries out fresh strikes on Iran, prompting Iran attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain

The U.S. military said on Wednesday it launched fresh strikes on Iran to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping, triggering Iranian attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain in the latest escalation to derail efforts to end the war. The latest round of attacks, which the U.S. said was carried out in response to Tuesday's assault on three cargo ships transiting the strait, came hours after President Donald Trump said he believed an interim ceasefire with Iran to be "over." "U.S. Central Command forces ...

July 1, 2026 3:35 PM

Iran insists on keeping control over Hormuz : report

Iran is determined to win international recognition of its control over the Strait of Hormuz and ability to levy fees on ships entering or leaving the Gulf even if it has to do so by force, Reuters reported citing two senior Iranian sources . Under this month's interim deal with the U.S. to end their three-month conflict, Iran agreed to let ships pass through the Strait for 60 days without charge. But it believes the wording of the agreement allows it to keep control of which ships may pass an...

June 30, 2026 9:10 AM

US and Iran negotiators head to Doha, but meeting uncertain

Iranian and U.S. negotiating teams were due in Doha this week, but Iran said on Monday no meeting had been scheduled as weekend missile fire from both sides tested the interim ceasefire to end the four-month-old war. U.S. President Donald Trump is sending his son-in-law Jared Kushner and his envoy Steve Witkoff to lead the negotiating team, according to his press secretary Karoline Leavitt. While Iran is sending its technical delegation to Qatar this week, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil ...

June 29, 2026 10:10 AM

Iran and US agree to halt attacks and renew talks, U.S. official says

Iran and the United States agreed to halt recent hostilities in the Gulf and renew talks regarding their dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, a U.S. official said on Sunday, raising hopes of saving an interim peace deal that was under pressure from days of tit-for-tat strikes. “Technical talks are slated to continue on all areas of the MOU. Both sides will stand down for now and vessels can move freely," the official said, referring to the 14-point memorandum of understanding that was agreed on...

June 15, 2026 5:49 PM

What the US and Iran say they have agreed in the memorandum to end the war

This is what the U.S. and Iran, along with mediator Pakistan, have said about what is in the preliminary deal they have announced to end the war. HOW THE DEAL WILL BE PHASED AND WHAT HAPPENS WHEN Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said both sides had declared an immediate and permanent end of all military operations. All sides have said the memorandum of understanding on an ‌end to the war will be signed in Switzerland on Friday. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi s...

June 11, 2026 3:06 PM

“Modi Govt stands firmly with bereaved families,” says Sarbananda Sonowal after three Indian seafarers confirmed dead in Settebello tragedy

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday expressed deep sorrow over the deaths of three Indian seafarers following the attack on the Palau-flagged vessel MT Settebello near the Strait of Hormuz, saying the government stands firmly with the bereaved families and is committed to all necessary assistance. In a post shared on X, Sonowal described the incident as a "profound loss" for India's maritime community and confirmed that the seafarers, initially reported missing, have now been declared...