An unknown projectile struck a cargo vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, damaging its engine room and killing or wounding at least one crew member, after a US-Iran ceasefire framework expired without renewal.
The Omani coastguard assisted the remaining crew, with no environmental impact reported. The strike came a day after a 60-day memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran lapsed, ending a pause in hostilities that had envisioned the strait's reopening and the lifting of sanctions on Iranian oil. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohamad Baqer Qalibaf insisted Tehran will not reopen the waterway until the United States meets its commitments, while Donald Trump said Iran must raise a white flag of surrender.
Traffic through the strait remains in single digits, with just six commodity vessels passing on Monday, far below the pre-war daily average of more than 130. Separately, the UAE said Iran fired two ballistic missiles at its territory, one landing in Emirati waters, and a crewless cargo ship was destroyed by projectiles off Yemen's Mocha port.