Iran reports commercial vessel struck in Strait of Hormuz

By Laura Sharman, Ibrahim Dahman, Rupert Neate, Jennifer Hansler, CNN

(CNN) — Iranian state media has claimed an Iranian commercial vessel was struck in the Strait of Hormuz late Saturday, killing one person, amid an ongoing battle between the US and Iran for control over the crucial energy chokepoint.

It comes at the same time as Iran-backed rebels in Yemen step up attacks and advance in their efforts to control a second vital waterway in the region, which could put further pressure on global oil prices.

The Hormuz attack, which the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) said injured four, took place near Qeshm Island in the strait.

Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) quoted the Qeshm governor as blaming a “terrorist enemy” for the attack.

The US has not commented on the reported attack. CNN has reached out to US Central Command for comment.

The US military has previously struck Iranian-flagged vessels as it maintains a blockade of Iranian ports and faces the renewed threat of Iranian ballistic missiles launched at its warships.

Qeshm Island, which is about 14 miles from the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, is key to Iran asserting control over traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 million barrels of oil passed every day before the war. Traffic remains about 90% below pre-conflict levels.

On Sunday, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said that the MT El Gaia, a Panamanian-flagged vessel with 14 Indians among its crew, was attacked off the Omani coast.

“Of the 14 Indian crew onboard, 13 Indians have been rescued so far,” ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on X. “Search and Rescue operations for the missing Indian national are continuing.”

Iran’s military said the El Gaia hit a sea mine while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian state media on Monday. US Central Command quickly branded the claim as “false,” asserting that the ship was struck by an Iranian drone over the weekend. CNN has reached out to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs for comment.

Separately, another vessel was hit by an unknown projectile in the strait late Saturday, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center.

UKMTO said a fire broke out and that local authorities were helping evacuate crew members. It did not provide details of which state has registered the vessel.

Talks on the Strait of Hormuz

Tehran on Monday criticized the postponement, at Saudi Arabia’s behest, of planned talks on the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Arab states of the Persian Gulf. Iran said it would now decide how to announce a new arrangement reached with Oman governing the waterway.

The meeting, planned for Monday, would have offered participating countries an “opportunity” to free the region from foreign interference, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said, according to IRNA.

Top diplomats from Gulf Arab states were expected to meet with Iran’s foreign minister in Oman on Monday to discuss the management of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, Baghaei said Saturday.

However, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said Sunday that the talks were postponed “in the interests of consensus.” Bahrain had said it would not attend, and it was not clear which other nations would be there had the talks proceeded.

Asked about the postponement, a Gulf official said Saudi Arabia submitted amendments because it had concerns that the proposed language could effectively establish a new status quo that would not be acceptable to it or the other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states.

Baghaei said Monday the meeting was “suddenly” postponed at Saudi Arabia’s request due to “developments in Yemen,” which he characterized as “a diversion from the root causes of this crisis.”

Iranian state media reported that officials are working closely with Oman to find a new date for the meeting, according to a translation from Reuters. Iran has been negotiating for months with Oman, which controls the opposite bank of the strait, over a deal that could govern shipping through it.

Oman’s energy minister, Salim Al Aufi, said Monday that disruption to the strait is probably a short-term situation and should stabilize in the medium term, according to Reuters.

Iran had played down the prospects of a breakthrough. President Masoud Pezeshkian told broadcaster India Today TV on Saturday: “The waterway would be opened up on the condition that the US will terminate its blockade.”

Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, said on X: “As long as ⁠the American side does not accept all of Iran’s conditions, dialogue and negotiation are of no use.”

A senior Iranian official told CNN on Sunday that the talks aimed to lay the groundwork for improved regional security and work on “safe maritime routes.”

“However, this agreement does not imply an automatic reopening of the Strait of Hormuz,” the source said. “The strait will not become secure until the US fulfills its obligations and halts its naval blockade and economic warfare.”

Iran-backed Houthis attack Saudi base

Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthis attacked the Saudi Arabian cities of Khamis Mushait, Abha and Taif on Monday with missiles and drones, injuring 13 civilians and damaging seven homes and two vehicles, according to Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki, a Saudi military spokesperson, who vowed a response.

On Sunday, the Houthis claimed responsibility for an attack on a Saudi military base in the Sharurah region bordering Yemen.

The Houthis have recently stepped up their fighting against Yemen’s Saudi-backed government and have expanded their area of control to the vicinity of a vital Red Sea waterway that links Asia to Europe.

The Houthis’ spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said a “barrage of ballistic missiles and drones” was used to target “weapons depots and command and control rooms,” but he did not specify when the attack took place.

On Saturday, the Houthis claimed that Saudi forces launched 129 airstrikes across Houthi-held areas of Yemen.

Last week, the Houthis captured Perim Island, at the mouth of the Red Sea. The island splits the vital Bab al-Mandeb Strait in two, giving Tehran de facto control over another key shipping route in addition to the Strait of Hormuz.

Earlier this week, a source told CNN that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had spoken twice with US President Donald Trump to urge him to strike the Houthis as the militia advances across Yemen toward the Red Sea, but that Trump declined.

Yemen’s National Resistance Factions, military groups aligned with the Yemeni government, said Sunday that more than 500 of its fighters have been killed in the three-week Houthi offensive on Yemen’s western coast.

Saudi Arabia said Saturday it temporarily closed its East-West pipeline as a precaution after a drone attack. Both Baghdad and Riyadh said the attack originated in Iraq, where Iranian-backed militias operate.

When asked about Saudi concerns after the pipeline closure and about moving marine traffic through the strait, Trump said that everything will “work out fine.”

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CNN’s Jennifer Hansler and Max Saltman contributed to this report.