Hormuz and Red Sea shipping, oil and gas, aviation, and market moves.
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The UAE's defence ministry said Iranian cruise missiles targeted two of its oil tankers in Omani waters in the Strait of Hormuz, killing an Indian crew member aboard the tanker Mombasa and wounding eight people; ADNOC said two of its tankers were hit. The IRGC said it attacked two supertankers crossing with their transponders off.
Trump posted that the U.S. was 'reinstating' the blockade of Iran and, as 'THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT', would be reimbursed 20% on all cargo shipped. The U.S.-led maritime centre said enforcement on all Iranian ports and coastal areas would begin at 20:00 GMT on July 14 while neutral transit continued; the next day Trump dropped the fee in favour of 'trade and investment' deals with Gulf states.
Six ships crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, July 12, the lowest in five weeks, according to Kpler data, including the tanker Humanity carrying 2 million barrels of Iranian oil; traffic slowed to a two-month low the following day. The U.S. Energy Department told CNBC that 8.5 million barrels of oil still transited on Sunday.
The IRGC Navy said the Strait of Hormuz was closed 'until further notice' and until U.S. interference ends, saying a vessel that switched off its systems on an 'illegal route' was stopped with warning shots; Fars said a cruise missile was used. CENTCOM said the IRGC attacked the Cyprus-flagged container ship GFS Galaxy, which caught fire east of Oman and could not continue, and UKMTO said its crew abandoned ship; one crew member was missing.
A document from the International Maritime Organization said countries must reject Iranian efforts to control the Strait of Hormuz, The Times of Israel reported. The UAE and allied states had submitted a joint proposal on Hormuz to the IMO Council's 187th session, which Iran had called politically motivated and urged the council not to adopt.
Brent rose 6% to about $78 a barrel after Trump said the deal with Iran was over, up from $71.80 at the end of the previous week. On July 9 it eased 0.7% to $77.45, and it ended the week at about $76, while the average U.S. gasoline price rose 5 cents overnight to $3.85, according to AAA.
Associated Press markets, Associated Press fuel prices +5 more
UKMTO reported three tankers hit by projectiles on July 6-7, starting with the Qatari LNG carrier Al Rekayyat, which caught fire after being struck 8 nautical miles east of Oman's Limah; another was hit by a drone, and Saudi Arabia said a Saudi tanker was targeted. No injuries were reported; U.S. officials blamed Iran, while Iranian state TV said the LNG tanker was attacked after ignoring warnings without directly claiming it.
Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya military command said any failure to comply with Iran's navigation protocols or deviation from its designated routes through the Strait of Hormuz 'will be met with an immediate and forceful response', after Iranian state TV said a ship ran aground using a route Iran had not approved.
The UN Conference on Trade and Development published 'Strait of Hormuz Disruptions: Beyond reopening, lasting impacts on vulnerable economies', assessing the damage to import-dependent developing countries from the closure of the strait.
CENTCOM said an Iranian one-way attack drone hit the Panama-flagged tanker Kiku at 4:30 a.m. ET (08:00 GMT) as it transited near the Strait of Hormuz carrying more than 2 million barrels of crude; no crew were hurt and no leak was reported.
The Evergreen container ship Ever Lovely was hit on the starboard side of its bridge 3.6 nautical miles off Oman's Khawr Naiwah after passing through Hormuz; its crew was unharmed and it continued. IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez paused the UN plan to evacuate about 11,000 seafarers stranded in the Gulf, and Trump said the next day that Iran had launched four drones at ships, one of which hit.
Brent crude fell to a low of $72.24 a barrel, slightly below its level the day before the war began on February 28 and down more than 20% in June, as vessel traffic through the strait doubled in 24 hours to its highest since late February. Prices rose about 2% later in the day after a ship was hit off Oman.
Oman's Maritime Security Centre said it was providing a temporary transit corridor through the strait in coordination with the International Maritime Organization, in line with toll-free navigation, as a UN plan to evacuate about 11,000 stranded seafarers began. The IRGC Navy said only Iran-designated routes were authorised and that ships using the new lane would be in danger.
Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters said the Strait of Hormuz was closed to vessel traffic as a 'first step' in response to Israel's attacks in Lebanon, which it called a breach of the U.S.-Iran agreement, and the IRGC Navy warned ships not to approach. CENTCOM said 55 merchant ships carrying more than 17 million barrels of oil transited that day and that Iran does not control the strait.
Iran's Supreme National Security Council ordered the Persian Gulf Strait Authority to process transit permits quickly to meet the memorandum's goals and said no fees would be charged for 60 days; Tehran said fees to cover the cost of managing the waterway would come into effect at the end of the negotiation period.
CENTCOM said U.S. forces had lifted the blockade on all maritime traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports and coastal areas 'in accordance with the President's direction', while U.S. warships stay in the region to ensure the agreement is adhered to. Vance said the 60-day negotiating period began that day and that 12.5 million barrels of oil had passed through Hormuz since the signing.
Brent crude fell about 4% to around $83 a barrel on Monday, touching just over $82, its lowest since March 10, as markets bet the Strait of Hormuz would reopen; European wholesale gas fell 6% and the Dow closed at a record high.
CENTCOM said Iran launched multiple one-way attack drones at commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz and that U.S. forces 'downed all of them in recent hours', adding that traffic continued unimpeded and 'the international trade corridor remains open for transit'.
U.S. Central Command on X, The Guardian live / Reuters +4 more
UKMTO said a tanker was struck in the port bow by an unknown projectile about 6 nautical miles east of Oman at 22:30 UTC; the crew was safe, there was no environmental impact and the tanker continued to its next port.
Brent, near $93 before Trump called off the strikes, briefly fell below $85 a barrel on Friday and ended about 3% lower at around $87.50, its lowest since the first week of the war, while U.S. stocks extended their rally.
A Guardian analysis of Trump's claim of a 'secret mission' found that shuttle tankers running with transponders off and ship-to-ship transfers may have moved about 1.9 million barrels a day through the strait since April, according to Kpler, against 15.6 million a day before the war; Lloyd's List said U.S. 'overwatch operations' were helping some of these transits along the Omani coast.
U.S. forces shot down two Iranian one-way attack drones as Tehran appeared to try to strike commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a U.S. official told Reuters, adding that 'traffic flow through the strait continues'.
Iranian media said the IRGC stopped a 'violating tanker' from entering the Strait of Hormuz without coordination and that it complied after warnings; a military source linked explosions heard off Sirik and near Bandar Abbas to the confrontation, though IRNA said no blasts occurred in Bandar Abbas. State TV had also reported an unexplained explosion at sea off Sirik that afternoon.
The Guardian live coverage, Times of Israel liveblog +7 more
Brent futures fell $3.37, or 3.6%, to $89.73 a barrel and U.S. WTI fell $3.20 to $86.83 after Trump cancelled the planned strikes, AP reported. In Asian trading WTI slid a further 1.9% to $86.08 and Brent 1.5% to $89.08, two-month lows, while South Korea's Kospi jumped more than 7%.
The World Bank cut its global growth forecast for 2026 to 2.5% from 2.9% growth in 2025, saying the Middle East conflict had triggered sharp energy price increases, renewed inflation and expectations of tighter monetary policy. It warned that developing economies face their weakest per-capita income growth since the pandemic.
CENTCOM said a U.S. aircraft fired two Hellfire missiles into the engine room of the Guinea-Bissau-flagged tanker Jalveer after it tried to carry Iranian oil through the Gulf of Oman and its crew repeatedly ignored directions. India said all 20 Indian crew were safe after the ship sent a distress call off Oman's port of Shinas when fire broke out.
The governor of Iran's Sirik county said a 150-ton locally owned cargo barge carrying essential goods from the Omani port of Khasab was hit by a U.S. projectile about 5 nautical miles off Khasab, and that all five crew were rescued by passing vessels and taken to Oman.
Arab News / Reuters / AFP, New Indian Express live coverage +1 more
Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority, set up on May 5 to oversee transit, said the strait was 'closed until further notice' because of U.S. aggression and told ships holding passes to await guidance. Iran's joint military command had announced a full closure the previous night, which CENTCOM rejected, saying commercial ships continued to transit.
QatarEnergy-controlled Lebrethah and Rasheeda and ADNOC-managed Marigold reappeared on ship-tracking data on June 10 after leaving the Strait of Hormuz dark, with Lebrethah bound for Pakistan and Marigold for India, according to LSEG and Kpler data cited by Reuters. That brings LNG cargoes out of Hormuz since the war began in late February to 12.
As U.S. strikes resumed, Iran's top joint military command said the Strait of Hormuz was closed to the passage of any vessel, including oil tankers, and that ships trying to pass would be targeted; Tasnim then said the IRGC Navy struck two 'violating ships'. CENTCOM said commercial ships were still transiting the strait and that no U.S. warships had been hit.