An Iranian drone strike on a cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday has forced the suspension of a major humanitarian mission and challenged a week-old peace agreement between Tehran and Washington.
The attack, the first reported since the United States and Iran agreed to work towards a peace deal last week, has triggered an uptick in global oil prices and disrupted efforts to rescue thousands of stranded mariners, reports CNN.
Evacuation mission suspended
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) announced an immediate halt to its mission to evacuate hundreds of ships and more than 11,000 seafarers who have been stranded in the Persian Gulf region since war broke out in late February.
“I have always reiterated that the safety of the seafarers remains paramount,” IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said in a statement. He confirmed the evacuation plan would be paused until “further clarity is obtained” to ensure navigational safety.
The vessel targeted on Thursday was struck on its starboard side by an unknown projectile, damaging the bridge, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations. While a US official told CNN the attack was carried out by an Iranian drone, no casualties or environmental impact were reported. Dominguez noted that the ship was not operating under the IMO evacuation framework at the time of the strike.
Tensions over maritime control
The incident occurred just hours after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) warned that vessels would only be granted safe passage via Iranian-declared routes. This directly challenges the Trump administration’s assertion that the strait is once again free and open.
The Persian Gulf Strait Authority, a newly established agency in Tehran, further heightened concerns by stating that safe transit is not guaranteed on “unauthorised routes,” placing responsibility for any consequences on vessel owners and commanders.
The current 14-point memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran includes a commitment to reopen the waterway without tolls for 60 days. However, the agreement also grants Iran a formal role in overseeing commercial traffic alongside Oman.
Diplomatic friction and oil markets
The strike coincided with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Bahrain, where he sought to sell the peace deal to sceptical Gulf nations. Rubio remained firm against Tehran’s attempts to impose “service fees” or tolls on the international waterway, describing the debate as a “game of semantics”.
“The reality of it is that no country on Earth has a right to charge for the use of international waterways,” Rubio said following a meeting where Gulf Arab foreign ministers rejected any attempts by Iran to assert control. Oman has also reportedly stated that future arrangements for the strait do not include transit fees.
The attack had an immediate impact on markets, with Brent crude closing 2 per cent at $74 per barrel, reversing the price drop seen after last week’s initial agreement.
Fragile path forward
The memorandum aims to halt fighting and offer Iran economic relief, including the lifting of the US blockade on Iranian ports, in exchange for a pledge never to develop nuclear weapons. However, vital technical details regarding Tehran’s nuclear programme and enriched uranium stocks remain unresolved.
High-stakes negotiations at the expert level are scheduled to begin on 30 June. These talks face additional hurdles, including persistent fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. While the peace agreement declared an end to fighting on all fronts, Iran continues to insist that the situations in Lebanon and the Persian Gulf are entwined.
In a notable diplomatic development, Rubio is skipping Israel during his Middle East tour, a move some analysts view as a snub to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid increasing US frustration over the campaign in Lebanon.
Despite the strike, ship movements in the Strait of Hormuz recently hit a post-war high, with 70 crossings recorded on Wednesday, most following the coast of Oman. Navigational authorities have now advised all vessels to transit with extreme caution.
