Ships attacked as Strait of Hormuz closed again; Iran reviews new US proposals; French soldier killed in Lebanon

Iran broadcast to ships in the Strait of Hormuz that the vital oil and gas channel is once again closed to maritime traffic, with owners reporting gunfire in the waterway and ships abandoning efforts to transit after a brief spell when it appeared it might reopen.

The radio transmission, heard by two owners with vessels in the area, came around the time as state-run news agency Nour reported that the strait had gone back to “strict management and control by the armed forces”.

The decision to close it again was because of a separate blockade that the US had been imposing on Iran’s shipping since Monday, Nour said.

The fresh closure was the culmination of hours of chaos and confusion that resulted in some ships racing to get out, only to U-turn. One supertanker had issued a radio broadcast that it was coming under gunfire, the two shipowners said, asking not to be identified because of the security situation.

A UK naval group also warned that a tanker had been approached by two Iranian gun boats and fired on without warning. It subsequently reported another ship had been hit by an unknown projectile.

Bloomberg