Fresh attacks on shipping as Iran war talks hit new deadlock
New attacks on ships near key oil routes as Iran-U.S. talks stall; four crew killed, oil prices rise.
The conflict between the United States and Iran took a fresh toll on global shipping on Tuesday, with separate incidents reported in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Oman. The attacks come as diplomatic efforts to end the war appear to have reached a new impasse, with Tehran insisting the strategic Strait of Hormuz will remain closed unless Washington meets its demands.
In the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, four crew members were killed in a suspected Houthi attack on a small cargo vessel, according to Yemen's Transport Ministry. Two Yemeni rescuers from an anti-Houthi military group also died, the country's Coast Guard said. The fatalities aboard the Egyptian-owned Tihamah mark the first deaths on shipping attributed to the Houthis since the war began.
The Houthi-run Saba news agency reported that the group attacked a Saudi ship carrying military equipment in the same area, though no vessel was named and Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military said a Navy helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles to disable the steering gear of a Panama-flagged cargo ship that had ignored repeated warnings to stop violating a naval blockade on Iranian ports. Maritime sources said the ship was hit off Pakistan while sailing into the Gulf of Oman.
Oil prices rose on the renewed uncertainty, with Brent crude climbing 1.4% to settle at $88.91 per barrel and U.S. crude gaining 1.3% to $83.20.
Rhetoric has sharpened on both sides. Iran's top security official, Mohsen Rezaei, said the Strait of Hormuz — which handled a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flow before the war — will not reopen unless the U.S. releases Iran's frozen assets and ends conflicts across the region, including in Lebanon and Gaza.
His comments followed a new demand from U.S. President Donald Trump that Iran pay compensation for people killed in 50 years of wars, attacks, and protests. In an interview released late Monday, Trump said he might "bop along" and let Tehran fail economically, or hit them "really, really hard," adding that Iranians are "very devious negotiators."
Adding to the prospect of further escalation, Mohammad Reza Naqdi, an adviser to the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, said on state TV that the corps is developing the ability to carry out operations "on enemy soil" whenever ordered.