Iran fires at UK commercial ships in Strait of Hormuz

Iran fired at least two missiles at commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Monday night, Axios reported, testing a late-June deal with the U.S. to halt attacks as the two sides work toward a peace agreement.

Tuesday, the British military reported three tankers were struck by projectiles in the Strait. Two vessels suffered some damage, but no one was injured, and both continued on their way, the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations center said. The tanker traveling off the coast of Oman caught fire, the U.K. agency said according to The Associated Press.

Iranian state television said the liquefied natural gas tanker came under attack after ignoring warnings but did not directly claim the assault. The U.K. agency said Monday that it received a report of a tanker being struck by an unknown projectile about 8 nautical miles east of Limah, Oman.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said the Qatari tanker Al Rekayyat was targeted in an “unacceptable attack” on international navigation in the AP report. He called it a “serious and explicit violation” of international law.

In a post on X, he said Qatar holds Iran “fully legally responsible” for the attack.

Tehran has repeatedly stated that only its approved route through the strait is safe, and is suspected of attacking other ships that have used another route close to the Omani shore, AP reported.

Location details provided by the U.K. agency show all three attacks occurred off the coast of Oman or the neighboring United Arab Emirates, making it likely that the ships were using the route near Oman.

The new assaults were the most in a single day since late April, according to U.N. International Maritime Organization figures. The fresh attacks threatened to choke off the flow of traffic in the strait just as countries hoped to restore normal shipping practices, AP reported.

Brent crude rose 0.4% to about $72.25 a barrel after the reports, which underscored the risks to shipping through the vital waterway.

The attacks come as President Donald Trump attends a NATO leaders’ summit in Ankara, Turkey. The U.S. conflict with Iran is expected to be a major topic of discussion, with Trump having expressed anger at several members of NATO for not doing more to help the U.S. against the Islamic Republic.

Talks between the U.S. and Iran were suspended as Iran began a mass funeral a few days ago for the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated on the first day of the conflict in late February.

Qatar said the next meeting would be scheduled as soon as possible after the funeral ceremonies. Khamenei is scheduled to be buried in his hometown of Mashhad on Thursday.

The interim peace deal reached last month established a 60-day negotiating period between Washington and Tehran, but extending it into a lasting peace will be challenging. Major issues remain unresolved, including unfreezing Iran’s assets, transit fees through the Strait of Hormuz and the Islamic Republic’s nuclear ambitions.

Trump expressed optimism, telling reporters last week that negotiators had made progress in indirect talks with Iran in Doha, Qatar. He did not provide details. U.S. negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met with Qatari officials to discuss the ongoing talks, while lower-level representatives continued so-called technical discussions.

The conflict sent oil and gas prices soaring after the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global energy supplies, was all but shuttered. The interim peace deal has since driven oil prices sharply lower, though it remains unclear how quickly energy flows can be restored to prewar levels.