A projectile hit a ship as it sailed out of the Strait of Hormuz early Tuesday, according to the British military’s U.K. Maritime Trade Operations center, and an Iranian official said the waterway would not be reopened until the United States meets Iran’s conditions. There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the attack highlights the danger of attempting to transit the strait as Iran throttles shipping traffic, even as it finalizes negotiations with Oman on a plan to manage the passage that’s critical to global supplies of oil and natural gas. Here’s a look at the latest developments Monday in the Iran war and the wider Middle East. A casualty is reported after a ship is hit in the strait An unidentified projectile damaged the engine room of a ship and “resulted in a crew casualty” early Tuesday morning as the vessel was trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman, the UKMTO said, citing a report from the company’s security office. The maritime monitoring agency did not release any details about the ship or its cargo, and it was not clear whether the crew member was killed in the attack or wounded. It said the Omani Coast Guard was assisting other crew members and that authorities were investigating. There has been growing concern about oil spilling into the Persian Gulf and other area waters from vessels damaged as they have attempted to transit the strait, but the UKMTO said no environmental damage had been reported in the latest attack. Iran effectively closed the strait — through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s traded oil supplies passed before the war — after Israel and the U.S. attacked the country on Feb. 28. The U.S. is currently blockading Iranian shipping traffic through the strait. Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, reiterated Tuesday that Tehran plans to maintain its grip on shipping traffic until Washington meet Iran’s conditions. “Until the United States fulfills its commitments under the agreement, including lifting the blockade, releasing frozen assets, lifting oil sanctions, ending threats and military operations on all fronts, and implementing the other conditions to which it committed, the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen,” he said. With negotiations between the U.S. and Iran stalled, Iran has been holding separate talks with Oman on a plan to manage ships transiting the strait, and said Monday it was in the process of finalizing details for a joint statement. U.S. President Donald Trump reacted angrily, reportedly threatening to Fox News reporter Trey Yingst in a telephone interview that the U.S. would bomb Oman if it “gets in the way.” Following a meeting between Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Omani counterpart Badr al-Busaidi, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the Iranian-Omani deal could pave the way for Washington and Tehran to return to negotiations for a “comprehensive and permanent deal that addresses all concerns and enhances regional security and stability.” The statement did not address Trump’s latest threat against Oman. Iran-backed Houthi rebels claim attack on Saudi Arabian oil refinery Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed they fired drones at an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia, the latest in a spate of recent attacks that have threatened to reignite the country’s civil war and open another front in the Middle East. The attack targeted a facility run by Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company, according to a report in Houthi-run SABA news agency. There were no immediate reports of damage or comment from Saudi Arabia. The Houthis have escalated attacks against government forces in Yemen and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, which supports the Yemeni government, and the kingdom’s shipping in the Red Sea, an important alternative to the Strait of Hormuz. At least 17 Yemeni civilian deaths have been reported in the government-controlled areas in Yemen as a result of rebels’ attacks since August 6, while two casualties were reported in Houthi-controlled areas in late July, the United Nations said Monday. The attacks included a Houthi missile strike on an internally displaced persons camp in Ma’rib province and an August 11 attack on a cargo ship in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which killed four crew members and injured several others. Turkiye urges Trump to seek diplomatic solution to war Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged U.S. President Donald Trump in a telephone call to continue to seek a diplomatic solution to the conflict with Iran. The call between the two presidents came late Monday as the 60-day negotiating period to find a peace deal between the United States and Iran was expiring, with no word of an extension and both sides seemingly as far apart as they were at the start. “President Erdogan said it is important to make maximum use of diplomacy amid tensions between Iran and the United States,” according to a statement from the Turkish presidential communications office. Turkiye, a NATO member that borders Iran, earlier this month signed a joint defence agreement with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, which stipulates “that any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all.” Trump praised the agreement, saying in a social media post that “it shows how the Middle East is coming together, and how Countries will finally be able to defend themselves in a more meaningful way.” During their conversation, Erdogan told Trump the deal reflected “a strong stance to ensure regional stability and security.” The Associated Press
