Iran has imposed an effective blockade of the strait and wants to charge users for passage, repeatedly attacking ships it accuses of attempting to circumvent its preferred route. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters
The UAE accused Iran on Saturday (August 8, 2026) of targeting a tanker belonging to its state-owned oil company in the Strait of Hormuz, even as both Iran and Oman suggested talks on administering the vital waterway were progressing.
Iran has imposed an effective blockade of the strait and wants to charge users for passage, repeatedly attacking ships it accuses of attempting to circumvent its preferred route.
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The U.S. vehemently opposes any Iranian tolls in the strait, though a June deal struck by the warring parties does allow Tehran to hammer out arrangements for the “future administration” of Hormuz in dialogue with fellow coastal state Oman.
Continued attacks in the strait, which was free to transit before the war, led to the collapse of an April ceasefire, and mediators have since urged both sides to return to the terms of the June memorandum.
The United Arab Emirates’ Foreign Ministry on Saturday (August 8, 2026) condemned what it called a “hostile Iranian attack that targeted a tanker belonging to ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company) with a missile while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz, without causing casualties”.
Later on Saturday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said a ship was hit by a projectile off Oman in the Strait of Hormuz, causing a fire that was extinguished but no casualties. It was unclear whether they were referring to the same ship.
On Friday, ADNOC had put out a statement saying that since the start of the war, 15 of its vessels had been attacked in Hormuz, “including three vessels this week alone”.
Oman’s foreign ministry on Saturday condemned “repeated attacks on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz”, without naming Iran.
Before US-Israeli strikes in February kicked off what quickly became a regional war, Hormuz had carried around a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.
Reopening uncertain
The previous Iran-U.S. deal — meant to serve as a jumping-off point for negotiations on a permanent settlement — had said Iran and Oman would hash out future arrangements for the strait in discussion with other Gulf countries and “in line with the applicable international law”.
International law generally forbids tolling in such waterways.
Oman said in its statement that “ongoing negotiations regarding navigation arrangements in the Strait of Hormuz are proceeding in a positive and constructive atmosphere”, and urged against any actions that might jeopardise the progress.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also said Saturday that talks with Oman were “approaching the final stages”, but cautioned that “this is not a sign of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz”.
“The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is subject to other conditions and compensation for the violation of the memorandum of understanding by the United States,” he said, referencing the June deal.
The Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the Iranian military, underscored the point, saying: “The opening of the Strait of Hormuz has its own mechanism and has nothing to do with the negotiations between Iran and Oman.”
“The enemy is forced to accept Iran’s conditions for the opening of the strait and to refrain from the interference that it is currently making in the negotiations — which have almost reached their end — between Iran, Oman and other countries.”
Published – August 08, 2026 09:43 pm IST
