Iran asserts control over Strait of Hormuz after ship attack

A container ship near Oman was attacked, and Iran said it had the right to control shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, escalating a dispute over one of the world’s most important energy lanes. The standoff came a day after a U.S. and Gulf Cooperation Council statement rejected Iranian tolls or other attempts to assert control over the waterway and demanded “free, unconditional, and unrestricted navigation” through it.

Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, said on X that safe passage through the strait could not be guaranteed under “ambiguous arrangements,” parallel routes, or decision-making that ignored Iran’s role as a coastal state. Iran’s foreign ministry said the U.S. military presence in the Gulf was the source of regional insecurity and argued that the strait should be governed by Iran and Oman under the terms of the interim deal. Three foreign tankers were turned back after a warning from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies normally passes through the Strait of Hormuz, a passage only about 20 miles wide at its narrowest point. Oil prices fell more than 3% on Friday after the attack, and Saudi Aramco resumed crude loadings at Ras Tanura, the kingdom’s biggest oil port, after a nearly four-month halt.

Washington warned that any move against shipping would trigger a wider confrontation. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, after a Gulf tour aimed at reassuring allies, said that if Iran threatened or blocked ships in the strait, “we’re going to have a problem.” The United States and the Gulf Cooperation Council also pressed Tehran to address missiles, drones, and support for proxy groups if it wanted a lasting peace.

The attack disrupted an evacuation effort for sailors caught in the region. The International Maritime Organization paused its planned operation after the incident, needing to reconfirm safety guarantees for ships on the evacuation list and others nearby. The plan was meant to move more than 11,000 stranded seafarers out of the Gulf.

The ship hit was the Singapore-flagged Ever Lovely, owned by Taiwan-based Evergreen Marine through a Singapore subsidiary. Evergreen said the vessel was struck by an unknown object while sailing close to Oman, that its bridge windows were damaged, no injuries were reported, and the cargo remained safe. At least 37 vessels had transited the strait or were in transit after the incident, and 20 used a route hugging Oman’s coast and the Musandam Peninsula to avoid Iranian waters.