A tanker was hit by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz Saturday, Britain's maritime security agency said, as the United States and Iran traded strikes in the sharpest escalation since they signed an interim peace deal two weeks ago.
The agency, UKMTO, said the vessel sustained damage to its bridge but that all crew were safe. The Joint Maritime Information Center, run by a coalition of navies protecting shipping, raised its threat level in response. The attack followed a strike on a cargo ship on Thursday that triggered the latest flare-up — and laid bare Iran's renewed bid to assert control over the world's most vital energy route, through which around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments pass in peacetime.
Each side accused the other of breaching the agreement, reached to end a conflict that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February. US Central Command said its overnight strikes hit Iranian missile and drone storage sites and coastal radar positions in response to "unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping" that violated the ceasefire. Tehran branded the strikes a blatant violation of the deal, and its Revolutionary Guards said they had hit US sites in the Gulf, warning that "if the aggression is repeated, our response will be broader".
Iranian media reported an explosion at a pier in the southern port of Sirik late Friday, which a military source attributed to a projectile impact. Mehr news agency later said the port was operating normally. Bahrain, which hosts the US Navy's regional headquarters, said it was targeted by several Iranian drones early Saturday and accused Tehran of sabotaging peace efforts.
Iran has warned vessels not to transit the strait without its permission, though ships have continued to move, some via a route Tehran has not authorised. Iranian state television said the Guards had fired "warning shots" at vessels using unapproved channels, prompting others to seek Iranian permits. Washington has been promoting a southern lane along the Omani coast, while Tehran — which ultimately aims to charge fees for use of the waterway — wants ships routed north through its waters.
US Vice-President JD Vance, President Donald Trump's chief negotiator, said Washington had honoured the deal and blamed Iran for any renewed conflict. "If they have disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone. But violence will be met with violence," he wrote on X.
The escalation again unfolded over the weekend with markets closed, giving both sides two days to harden positions without immediate price impact. Before the latest violence, oil had fallen about 3% on Friday, on course for a steep weekly drop, as hundreds of blockaded ships began leaving the Gulf and supply surged. The economic strain on Iran is mounting: its statistics agency said annual inflation had reached 88.6%, up from 68% in February.
The fighting threatens to drag in Lebanon, where Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected a US-backed deal signed Friday with Israel, calling it "humiliating, shameful and a surrender of sovereignty" and declaring it null and void. Israel struck the south Saturday, and Defence Minister Israel Katz said troops had been told to prepare for an extended stay in the security zone they occupy.
HA Hellyer of the Royal United Services Institute said Iran was likely to keep up "calibrated, low-level coercive activity" around the strait to pressure shipping without triggering a wider war.
