One person was killed in a collision with an Iranian commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz late Saturday, Iranian state media reported, amid ongoing fighting between the United States and Iran over control of a key energy chokepoint.
This comes as Iran-backed Yemeni rebels have stepped up attacks and efforts to seize control of the region’s second most important waterway, potentially putting further pressure on global oil prices.
According to state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the attack on Hormuz, which injured four people, occurred near Qeshm Island in the strait.
Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported that the governor of Qeshm blamed “terrorist enemies” for the attack.
The United States has not commented on the reported attack. CNN has reached out to U.S. Central Command for comment.
The U.S. military maintains a blockade of Iranian ports and has previously attacked Iranian-flagged vessels as it faces a new threat from Iranian ballistic missiles fired at warships.
Qeshm, about 22 kilometers from the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, is key to Iran’s claim to control traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz, through which some 20 million barrels of oil passed through each day before the war. Traffic remains about 90% below pre-conflict levels.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs announced on Sunday that the Panamanian-flagged MT El Gaia, carrying 14 Indians on board, was attacked off the coast of Oman.
“Of the 14 Indian crew members on board, 13 Indians have been rescued so far,” ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told X. “Search and rescue operations for the missing Indians continue.”
On Monday, Iran’s military announced that the Elgaia had hit a sea mine while passing through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian state media. U.S. Central Command quickly branded the claim “false” and claimed the ship had been attacked by an Iranian drone over the weekend. CNN has contacted India’s Ministry of External Affairs for comment.
Separately, another vessel was struck by an unknown projectile in the Channel late Saturday, the UK Maritime Trade Operations Center (UKMTO) said.
UKMTO announced that a fire had broken out and local authorities were assisting in the evacuation of the crew. He did not provide details on which state the vessel was registered in.
Tehran on Monday criticized the postponement of scheduled Strait of Hormuz talks between Iran and Persian Gulf Arab states at Saudi Arabia’s request. Iran said it would now decide how to announce the new deal reached with Oman, which controls the waterway.
The meeting, scheduled for Monday, offered participating countries an “opportunity” to liberate the region from foreign interference, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai said.
Baghai said on Saturday that top diplomats from Gulf Arab states will meet with Iran’s foreign minister in Oman on Monday to discuss managing maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
However, Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi said on Sunday that the talks had been postponed “in order to reach an agreement.” Bahrain has said it will not attend, and it is unclear which other countries would participate if talks proceed.
Asked about the postponement, a Gulf official said Saudi Arabia had submitted the amendments because of concerns that the proposed language could effectively establish a new status quo that is unacceptable to the country and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
Baghai said on Monday that the meeting had been postponed “abruptly” at Saudi Arabia’s request due to “evolving developments in the situation in Yemen,” which he characterized as a “departure from the root causes of this crisis.”
Iranian state media reported that officials were working closely with Oman to find a new date for the talks, according to a Reuters translation. Iran has been negotiating for months with Oman, which controls the other side of the strait, over a deal to control shipping through the strait.
According to Reuters, Oman’s Energy Minister Salim Al Awfi said on Monday that the disruption in the strait was likely a short-term situation and that it should stabilize in the medium term.
Iran downplayed the possibility of a breakthrough. “The waterway will be opened on the condition that the US lifts the blockade,” President Masoud Pezeshkian told Indian broadcaster India Today TV on Saturday.
Ebrahim Azizi, chairman of the National Security Committee of Iran’s parliament, said of X: “Unless the American side accepts all of Iran’s conditions, dialogue and negotiations will be of no use.”
A senior Iranian official told CNN on Sunday that the talks were aimed at laying the foundations for improving security in the region and working on “safe maritime routes.”
“However, this agreement does not mean the automatic reopening of the Strait of Hormuz,” the official said. “The Straits will not be safe until the United States fulfills its obligations and ceases its naval blockade and economic warfare.”
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis on Monday attacked Saudi Arabia’s cities of Khamis Mushait, Abha and Taif with missiles and drones, injuring 13 civilians and damaging seven homes and two vehicles, Saudi military spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki vowed to respond.
On Sunday, the Houthis claimed responsibility for an attack on a Saudi military base in Sharra region, which borders Yemen.
The Houthis have recently stepped up their fight against the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, expanding their control into areas near the vital Red Sea waterway linking Asia and Europe.
Houthi spokesman Yahya Salih said a “concentration of ballistic missiles and drones” had been used to target “arms depots and command and control rooms,” but he did not say when the attack took place.
On Saturday, the Houthis claimed that Saudi forces had launched 129 airstrikes across Houthi-held areas in Yemen.
Last week, the Houthis captured Perim Island, at the mouth of the Red Sea. The island bisects the vital Bab al-Mandeb Strait, giving the Iranian government de facto control of another important shipping lane in addition to the Strait of Hormuz.
Earlier this week, sources told CNN that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has met twice with US President Donald Trump and urged him to attack the Houthis as the militia advances across Yemen toward the Red Sea, but Trump has refused.
The Yemeni National Resistance, a military group affiliated with the Yemeni government, said on Sunday that more than 500 fighters had been killed in three weeks of Houthi attacks on Yemen’s west coast.
Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday that it had temporarily closed its East-West pipeline as a precautionary measure following the drone attack. Both Baghdad and Riyadh said the attack occurred in Iraq, where Iranian-backed militias operate.
Asked about Saudi Arabia’s concerns after the pipeline closure and the movement of maritime traffic through the strait, President Trump said everything would be “okay.”
