Iran-US war latest: Chaos in Strait of Hormuz as Tehran attacks ships and vessel seized by ‘unauthorised personnel’
Chaos erupted in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday as Donald Trump sought China’s backing in resolving the lingering crisis with peace talks to end the conflict still on hold.
An unidentified ship was boarded by “unauthorised personnel” off the coast of the United Arab Emirates port of Fujairah and redirected towards Iran, the British maritime security agency UKMTO reported.
The agency said it received a report that the vessel near the southern entry of the Strait of Hormuz was boarded at 5.45am local time. It had been anchored 38 nautical miles northeast of Fujairah.
India said meanwhile that an Indian-flagged wooden cargo vessel had sunk on Wednesday while sailing through Omani waters following a fire from a suspected drone or missile strike.
Iran, widening its claim to regional waters, appeared to be making more deals with countries to allow some ships to pass through the vital waterway as the IRGC said 30 vessels had crossed the strait since Wednesday morning.
Iran’s Fars news agency reported on Thursday that an agreement had been reached to allow some Chinese ships to pass, as Trump discussed the war with Chinese president Xi Jinping.
After Trump and Xi met, a White House official said the leaders had agreed that the strait should be open, and that Iran should never obtain nuclear weapons. China is close to Iran and the main buyer of its oil.
