A United Nations agency paused the evacuation of ships through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday (June 25, 2026) after the British military said a vessel was hit by a projectile off the coast of Oman following the passage of several tankers that used a route backed by the UN.

The head of the International Maritime Organization said the plan to move stranded ships out of the Persian Gulf through the strait will be on hold until the agency can confirm safety guarantees for the ships on the evacuation list and in the region.

Also read | Fresh dispute emerges over Strait of Hormuz transit routes despite ceasefire

It was unclear who launched the projectile or the type of vessel that was targeted. The report of a strike came hours after Iran threatened vessels to stop using the route through the strait without Tehran’s permission.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said the vessel sustained damage, but it reported no injuries or environmental impact in the attack off the coast of Oman.

The opening of an alternative passage through the vital waterway would relieve pressure on the world economy and remove Iran’s main source of leverage in ongoing peace talks with the United States. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on a visit to the Gulf to reassure American allies, said Washington was committed to the new route and making sure ships were able to transit the strait.

“If that stops, then we’re going to have a problem,” Mr. Rubio said earlier Thursday (June 25, 2026).

Traffic through the strait increased in recent days but was still well below prewar levels. Oil on Thursday (June 25, 2026) briefly dipped below its last prewar price of just under $73 per barrel, a sign that the market believes the situation was improving.

The U.S. and Iran are still debating terms of an interim peace deal — from getting ships through the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf to the future of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

Under the memorandum of understanding signed last week, the U.S. and Iran have 60 days to iron out the details. As talks are held behind closed doors, US President Donald Trump and Iranian leaders have seemed to negotiate in public, trading threats and claiming concessions the other side denies.

Meanwhile, a flare-up of fighting in Lebanon between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants threatened the wider truce. Lebanon says five people have been killed by Israeli strikes over the past two days.

More ships are passing through the strait, but far fewer than before the war

Oil tankers, led by the Stoic Warrior vessel, sailed along the United Arab Emirates and then Oman early Thursday, passing by Oman’s Musandam Peninsula fairly close to the shore. The route was laid out by Oman and the International Maritime Organization, a UN agency.

North of the route is a corridor in the center of the strait where ships had moved through freely before the war, transporting about a fifth of all the world’s oil and natural gas.

Iran said it mined that passage after the U.S. and Israel attacked it on Feb. 28. At least one mine has been sighted there.

Though some ships had been getting out of the strait, with US military support, the UN agency’s effort is the latest to free trapped vessels. The shipping company Maersk said its container ship, the Maersk Baltimore, and another chartered vessel made it out on Thursday (June 25, 2026).

Last week, 125 vessels crossed the strait, up from 33 the week before, according to marine data and analysis firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence.

According to S&P Global, Wednesday (June 24, 2026) saw 78 transits, the most since the war began, but still below the daily prewar average of 130 or more.

“Opportunistic operators — and there are many of them — emboldened by the lower transit risk, or at least the perceived lower transit risk, have begun chasing the backlog of trapped cargoes,” said Richard Meade, editor-in-chief at Lloyd’s List.

Iran says the new shipping route is unacceptable

The naval arm of the Revolutionary Guard issued a warning Thursday (June 25, 2026) against using the route, carried by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.

It said the new route was established without notice or coordination with Iran, calling it “unacceptable and completely dangerous.” “The only authorized route for passing through the Strait of Hormuz is the one declared by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the Iranian force said. “Vessel traffic outside these routes is extremely dangerous and prohibited.” “Violators will be dealt with,” it added, without elaborating.

On Wednesday (June 24, 2026), the Guard threatened one tanker over the radio, with a soldier warning, “You are in range of my missiles and maybe (I) fire on you,” according to the private security firm Ambrey.

Rubio says the US will ensure there are no tolls on ships

Mr. Rubio met with Foreign Ministers from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council to assure them that their interests would be protected in any agreement with Iran.

Those countries, including major energy producers reliant on the strait for exports, came under attack by Iran after the start of the war.

“There is no part in this deal that’s undertaken that in any way undermines the security, the stability or the prosperity of any of our partners in the Gulf region,” Mr. Rubio said at the meeting in Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet.

Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani thanked the US for its support, saying that because of the agreement, “today we see a glimmer of hope for our region” but stressed that it was “critically important that Iran adheres to its obligations.”

Lebanon remains a flashpoint

A lull in fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah that started Sunday (June 21, 2026) began to show cracks after Israel said it targeted Hezbollah militants.

Lebanon’s health ministry said Thursday (June 25, 2026) that three people were killed by an Israeli strike on a car in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah has called the recent strikes a ceasefire violation but has not retaliated. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the latest strike, which came as Lebanese and Israeli officials were in Washington discussing a proposed phased withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon.

Israel’s military said Thursday (June 25, 2026) that a reservist soldier was killed and another hurt in southern Lebanon.

Over 4,000 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli strikes since the latest Israel-Hezbollah war began in March, when the Lebanese militant group fired at Israel. At least 37 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Lebanon or northern Israel during the fighting. 

Published – June 26, 2026 02:32 am IST

Ships were warned, but after they ignored the warning, warning shots were fired at them, forcing them to return, IRIB said.
| Photo Credit: AP

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio prepares to board his plane at Jaipur International Airport in Jaipur, India on May 26, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP

Iran said on Wednesday (May 20, 2026) it was examining the latest U.S. proposal received from mediator Pakistan in talks to end the West Asia war, despite the two sides trading threats over resuming attacks.

It came after U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters that Washington was in the “final stages” of negotiations with Iran.

“We’ll either have a deal or we’re going to do some things that are a little bit nasty. But hopefully that won’t happen,” Mr. Trump said.

“I’m in no hurry. I just, ideally, I’d like to see few people killed, as opposed to a lot,” he added.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the Islamic Republic had “received the points of view of the American side and we are currently examining them”.

He reiterated Iran’s demands, including the release of Iranian assets frozen abroad and an end to the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports.

Tehran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, had said earlier that the United States wanted to restart the West Asia war, after Mr. Trump said he would attack again unless Tehran agreed a peace deal.

Mr. Ghalibaf, who warned of a “forceful response”, was speaking after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said any renewed war would spread far beyond the West Asia.

“The enemy’s movements, both overt and clandestine, show that despite economic and political pressure, it has not abandoned its military objectives and is seeking to start a new war,” Mr. Ghalibaf said.

‘Give diplomacy a chance’

A ceasefire on April 8 brought a halt to the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, which has roiled the global economy, but with Washington and Tehran seemingly reluctant to resume the fighting, a war of words has taken its place.

Mr. Trump has repeatedly threatened Tehran with renewed military action, while Iranian officials have hit back with their own warnings.

The Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday (May 20, 2026): “If the aggression against Iran is repeated, the promised regional war will this time spread far beyond the region, and our devastating blows will crush you.”

Nevertheless, despite sporadic bursts of violence, the two countries have continued to take part in diplomatic exchanges, mediated by Pakistan, aimed at bringing a formal end to the war.

Citing diplomatic sources, Iran’s official IRNA news agency announced a visit to Tehran by Pakistan’s Interior Minister, his second in less than a week.

Global oil prices fell more than five percent on Wednesday (May 20, 2026) on hopes of a deal.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan praised Mr. Trump on Wednesday (May 20, 2026) for his decision to “give diplomacy a chance” and urged Iran to seize “the opportunity to avoid the dangerous implications of escalation”.

Israel’s army chief Lieutenant Colonel Eyal Zamir, meanwhile, said the military was at its highest alert level “and prepared for any development”.

Under pressure

Mr. Trump is under pressure, with rising energy costs beginning to bite at home.

While the ceasefire brought a halt to the fighting, it has not reopened the vital Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas usually pass.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards navy on Wednesday (May 20, 2026) said they allowed 26 vessels, including oil tankers, to transit the Strait of Hormuz over the previous 24 hours, after “coordination and security provided by the IRGC navy”.

The United States has imposed its own blockade on Iranian ports, and U.S. Central Command said Marines had boarded an Iranian-flagged oil tanker on Wednesday (May 20, 2026) in the Gulf of Oman that was suspected of attempting to violate the blockade.

“American forces released the vessel after searching and directing the ship’s crew to alter course,” CENTCOM said on X.

It said U.S. forces have now redirected 91 commercial ships to ensure compliance with the blockade.

The future of the Hormuz strait is a key sticking point in negotiations, but without a deal fears are growing for the global economy as pre-war stockpiles of oil are used up.

The strait is also a conduit for around a third of global fertiliser, the loss of which is pushing up food prices and could cause shortages.

On Wednesday (May 20, 2026), the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization warned of “a severe global food price crisis” and a “systemic agrifood shock” from the closure of the strait.

Published – May 21, 2026 01:21 am IST

Cargo ships in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam Governance in United Arab Emirates on March 11, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters