Following further attacks on ships, the US has launched several strikes against Iran. Iran has once again declared the Strait of Hormuz closed.
The “ceasefire” between the US and Iran has been strained on several occasions over the past few weeks. The facade has now finally crumbled. After Iran had already carried out new attacks in the Strait of Hormuz last week, another attack took place at the weekend – this time on a container ship.
According to the UKMTO, the vessel in question is a ship flying the Cypriot flag, with a capacity of 7,000 TEU. It was approximately 9 sm off the Omani coast when it was struck. It subsequently caught fire, but the crew were rescued by Omani emergency services.
The security situation in the Strait of Hormuz has once again deteriorated drastically, as this example shows. Iran claims that ships ignored warnings and sailed through the strait on unauthorised routes. The US has responded in recent days with multiple attacks on Iranian infrastructure, including radar centres, air defence systems and missile sites. Since 7 July, the US Central Command (Centcom) has reported a total of four waves of attacks, the most recent on 12 July. Floating drones were deployed for the first time during these attacks. According to Iranian media, areas in the south and west of the country have been particularly affected.
Iran responded with attacks across the Gulf region against US allies such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Jordan. These countries have reported on several occasions that they have intercepted Iranian missiles. The US has, according to the Foreign Ministry, undermined all diplomatic efforts of recent months with these attacks.
“Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz”
In the wake of the latest developments, Iran has once again declared the Strait of Hormuz closed. Commercial vessels are not permitted to pass through the strait. However, the US has contradicted this account: “The Strait of Hormuz is a vital corridor for global trade,” Centcom stated on its website. “Iran does not control it.”
Nevertheless, the number of ships in the strait has fallen back to a record low, despite security assurances from US forces. According to data from the company Kpler, only six ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday. Furthermore, several thousand seafarers remain stranded in the Persian Gulf, as their ships are unable to leave the region. Efforts by the IMO and its partners to evacuate as many crews as possible were thwarted by attacks from Iran. As the safety of the operations could not be guaranteed, the evacuation had to be called off.
