'Projectiles' hit Strait of Hormuz tankers, as US revokes Iran oil license

The British military says three tankers were struck by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz, in the latest attacks targeting vessels moving through the fuel-shipping waterway that is central to negotiations between the US and Iran for a permanent end to the war.

Hours later, the US revoked a licence that had authorised the sale of Iranian oil. The Treasury Department issued the 60-day licence last month, waiving sanctions on Iranian oil as part of an interim agreement to end the fighting.

Neither US Treasury officials nor the Iranian mission to the United Nations responded to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

The new assaults in the strait were the most in a single day since late April, according to UN 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 and ease the global economic strain of the war.

One tanker was travelling off the coast of Oman when it was hit and caught fire, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said on Tuesday, local time.

The tanker's left-side engine room was struck as the vessel exited the strait near the Omani-Emirati border, and a fire was sparked in the attack, the centre said.

Iranian state television said the liquefied natural gas tanker — which it said was carrying gas from Oman — came under attack after ignoring warnings.

The Iranian regime did not directly claim responsibility for the assault.

The other two ships sustained some damage, but no one was injured, and both continued on their way, the UK maritime agency said.

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

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

The US Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Tuesday's attacks.

Majed Al-Ansari, a spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, said the Qatari tanker Al Rekayyat tanker was targeted in an “unacceptable attack” on international navigation and global energy security.

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.

It is the first time an LNG ship from Qatar, a mediator in talks between the US and Iran, has been struck since the start of the Iran war on February 28.

Nakilat, also known as Qatar Gas Transport Company Ltd, which owns the Al Rekayyat tanker, did not respond to requests for comment, nor did QatarEnergy or Qatar's international media office.

The U.S Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) on Tuesday raised the threat level to transit the strait to "severe" from "substantial" following the attacks, citing deliberate hostile action likely under current conditions.

Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry claimed the Saudi-flagged Wedyan supertanker was one of the other two vessels targeted in the strikes.

The escalation marked the first time the threat level had been set at that severe status since June 15.

"The recent confirmed incidents highlight that the threat environment remains heightened and warrants extreme vigilance," JMIC said.

The centre also said mariners should expect continued naval presence, congestion along transit routes, and more intense hailing by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Talks between US and Iran on hold

The US is eager to press ahead with negotiations with Iran aimed at fully reopening the strait, rolling back Tehran’s disputed nuclear program and reaching a permanent end to the war.

An interim deal between the two nations has already been strained.

Previous attacks in the strait sparked retaliatory strikes by the US. Iran then responded by striking other Gulf Arab states.

In peacetime, a fifth of all traded oil and natural gas passed through the channel.

The Treasury licence issued by the US authorised the production, delivery and sale of Iranian oil until August 21.

US Vice-President JD Vance said at the time that lengthy talks with senior Iranian officials in Switzerland created a “good foundation for a successful final deal” to end the war.

Iran’s joint military command warned last Thursday that any US interference in the strait would "be met with a rapid and decisive reaction.”

But the Joint Maritime Information Center, a multinational body overseen by the US Navy, told shippers on Monday, local time, that the route around Oman “has been expanded and remains available for all traffic.”

Ships bound for the north via the Iranian route must register with Tehran. Those going south work with Oman and the US.

Speaking on Monday at the White House, Mr Trump warned Iran that it would need to “make a deal, or we're going to finish the job.”

"I'd rather make a deal, because I don't want to affect 91 million people,"

he said.

“We can knock down their bridges in one hour. We can knock out their energy supply.”

The US and many Gulf Arab states say they will not agree to Iran charging for passage through the strait. An effort by Oman and the UN to launch a new route near Oman’s shore earlier sparked attacks across the Middle East.

The data firm Kpler reported that over the last weekend, at least 108 ships crossed through the strait using various routes.

Meanwhile, talks between Iran and the US appeared to remain on hold until after the burial of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the beginning of the war.

Mourners at his funeral called for the death of US President Donald Trump.

Authorities flew Khamenei's body to the Shiite seminary city of Qom, where mourners honoured him on Tuesday, local time.

AP