Strait of fire: US-Iran hostilities continue as talks collapse

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) has launched further strikes on sites along Iran’s southern coast.

IMAGE: The Strait of Hormuz. Getty Images

Brent crude’s price has remained well above $80/bbl amid further escalation in the Middle East, after the CENTCOM disabled an Iran-linked vessel, allegedly attempting to sail toward an Iranian port in the Arabian Gulf yesterday.

The Curacao-flagged oil tanker M/T Belma was moving toward the Kharg Island in Iran’s southern coast when US forces disabled it, CENTCOM said.

“A U.S. aircraft disabled the vessel after firing hellfire missiles into the ship’s smokestack,” it added.

Overnight, US forces also struck Iranian air defense, missile and drone sites, as well as coastal surveillance facilities and multiple locations including Bandar Abbas port, according to CENTCOM.

Meanwhile, Tehran has maintained a consistent stance – threatening to widen its campaign against the US beyond the Strait of Hormuz, should Washington continue to target its critical energy infrastructure.

“America still hasn’t learned that bullying and breaking promises are no longer cost-free. Let me put it plainly: if you strike, you’ll get hit,” Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf remarked on social media platform X.

The oil market’s focus also remains on other vulnerable chokepoints – like the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, where previous Houthi attacks sent shipping costs soaring by forcing vessels to divert around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.

Maritime watchdogs sound alarm over escalating risks

The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez warned yesterday that the Strait of Hormuz has become too treacherous for shipowners and operators to navigate.

“I will maintain the message of upholding international law, for countries to do the same thing, and for companies… not to take risk to transit through the Strait of Hormuz,” Dominguez said on Bloomberg Radio.

The Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) also stated that the regional threat level for the Strait of Hormuz is severe, “with hostile activity observed across the Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman,” it said.

Earlier this week, the IMO Council reaffirmed that passage through the strait should “remain free of any tolls and charges, in accordance with international law, including the IMO Convention”.

The statement came shortly after the US President Donald Trump proposed a fee equivalent to 20% of a cargo's value for the US to act as the self-appointed “Guardian of the Hormuz Strait,” before quickly retracting the proposal.

By Aparupa Mazumder

Please get in touch with comments or additional info to news@engine.online