Hormuz and Red Sea shipping, oil and gas, aviation, and market moves.
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Iran's military said naval commandos boarded the Ocean Koi in the Gulf of Oman for trying to 'disrupt' Iranian oil exports and escorted it to Iran's southern coast. MarineTraffic data showed the tanker empty, and it had been sanctioned by the US under an earlier name as part of Iran's own shadow fleet.
Trump said that at the request of Pakistan and other countries, and because 'Great Progress' had been made toward a final agreement with Iran, the operation to move ships through Hormuz would be paused briefly while the blockade stayed 'in full force'. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the decision.
UKMTO said a cargo vessel was struck by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz area; two US officials told CBS the CMA CGM San Antonio was hit by a possible land-attack cruise missile, injuring several Filipino crew. CMA CGM confirmed the attack, the injuries and damage to the ship.
CENTCOM said Navy destroyers had crossed into the Gulf and two US-flagged merchant vessels had transited the strait, after a US-led center set up an 'enhanced security area' south of the usual lanes and warned of unmapped mines. The IRGC called the claim 'complete lies'; Maersk later said the US-flagged Alliance Fairfax had left the Gulf under US military escort.
The UAE said two Iranian drones targeted an ADNOC-affiliated tanker transiting the strait, with no injuries, and called it IRGC 'piracy'. The same day an explosion and fire hit the South Korean-operated bulk carrier HMM Namu with 24 crew aboard; Trump blamed Iran, Iran denied involvement, and Seoul later said two unidentified objects struck its stern.
Trump said the US would guide ships from countries not involved in the war out of the Strait of Hormuz starting Monday morning, calling it a humanitarian gesture and warning that interference would be 'dealt with forcefully'; CENTCOM said it would commit destroyers, more than 100 aircraft and 15,000 troops. Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Azizi said any US interference in the strait would be treated as a ceasefire violation.
Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Algeria and Kazakhstan agreed at an online meeting to raise June output targets by 188,000 barrels per day, their first decision since the UAE left the group; the increase is largely symbolic while Hormuz is closed. Kuwait exported no crude at all in April, a first since the 1991 Gulf War, Al Jazeera reported.
UKMTO said a northbound bulk carrier was attacked by multiple small craft about 11 nautical miles west of Sirik on Iran's coast; all crew were safe and nobody claimed responsibility. Hours later UKMTO said a tanker off Fujairah was hit by unknown projectiles, also without casualties.
Brent for June delivery jumped past $125 in Asian trading and briefly above $126 before easing to about $122. Axios reported that CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper would brief Trump on options including 'short and powerful' strikes on Iran.
West Texas Intermediate rose about 5% to $101.10 a barrel and Brent traded at $112.30 on Tuesday morning as talks to reopen Hormuz stalled; Brent for June delivery later stood 2.7% higher at $111.18. AAA said average US gasoline hit $4.18 a gallon, the highest since 2022.
The United Arab Emirates said it will quit OPEC and the wider OPEC+ group on May 1, citing its long-term strategy and the need to meet 'urgent' market needs amid disruptions in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. It said it would raise output gradually once free of the group's production limits.
Commercial flights resumed at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport on Saturday morning, with departures to Istanbul, Muscat and Medina, Iranian media said; Flightradar24 showed at least three Istanbul-bound flights.
Brent crude stood at $106.80 a barrel at 01:00 GMT on Friday, up nearly 5% from Wednesday’s close, when it had passed $100 for the first time in two weeks, Al Jazeera reported; CBS News put Brent near $107 and U.S. crude just over $97. Both cited the tit-for-tat ship captures in Hormuz.
The Pentagon said U.S. forces boarded the “stateless” sanctioned tanker Majestic X carrying Iranian oil in the Indian Ocean, two days after boarding the M/T Tifani in the Indo-Pacific. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said the two tankers held about 1.9 million barrels of Iranian oil and were seized under warrants from her office; Guyana said the Majestic X was fraudulently flying its flag, and Hegseth said the blockade had “gone global.”
Iran’s second deputy parliament speaker Hamidreza Haji-Babaei said the first revenue from tolls on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz had been deposited in the Central Bank of Iran; another MP said fees vary with cargo and risk.
The Pentagon told the House Armed Services Committee in a classified briefing that clearing mines from the Strait of Hormuz would likely take six months, a person familiar with the briefing told AP. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said a six-month closure was “an impossibility” and accused media of cherry-picking leaked information; Hegseth declined to speculate.
UKMTO said an IRGC gunboat fired on a container ship 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman, heavily damaging its bridge, and a second cargo ship was fired upon and stopped; Iranian state TV said the MSC Francesca and Epaminondas were in IRGC custody and being taken to Iran, and Iranian agencies reported a third vessel, Euphoria, attacked. The White House said the seizures did not breach the truce because the ships were not American or Israeli; Panama condemned the “illegal seizure” of the Panama-flagged MSC Francesca.
IRGC-linked Tasnim said the controlled-passage channels through the Strait of Hormuz were closed “until further notice” after a ceasefire violation, until guarantees were given that the U.S. blockade would be fully lifted. MarineTraffic showed no vessels in the waterway afterward, and Maersk said transit “should be avoided.”
CENTCOM said the Iranian-flagged Touska, heading for Bandar Abbas, ignored warnings over six hours, after which USS Spruance disabled its propulsion with several 5-inch rounds into the engine room and Marines of the 31st MEU boarded it; Trump said the sanctioned ship was in U.S. custody. Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters called it “armed piracy” and a ceasefire violation and vowed to retaliate “soon.”
UKMTO said two IRGC-linked gunboats fired on a tanker without a radio challenge, and a container ship was hit by an unknown projectile 25 nautical miles northeast of Oman; crews were reported safe. Two Indian-flagged vessels, including a supertanker carrying Iraqi oil, reversed course, and India summoned Iran’s ambassador to convey “deep concern.”
Iran’s joint military command said control of the Strait of Hormuz had “returned to its previous state” under strict armed forces control because of the U.S. blockade. That evening the IRGC Navy declared the strait closed until the blockade is lifted, warned ships not to leave anchorage and said violators would be targeted.
Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization said air routes over eastern Iran reopened at 7 a.m., and the Association of Iranian Airlines said six airports, including Tehran’s Imam Khomeini and Mehrabad, Mashhad, Birjand, Gorgan and Zahedan, had reopened, with flights to resume gradually.
Brent fell about 9% to around $90 a barrel and U.S. crude fell nearly 11% to $84.36 after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz open, CBS News reported; Al Jazeera said Brent settled at $90.38, down 9.1%, as the S&P 500 closed above 7,100 for the first time.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz was “completely open” for the rest of the ceasefire in Lebanon, on a route coordinated by Iran’s maritime authorities; the IRGC Navy said transits still needed its permission and warships remained barred. Trump thanked Iran but said the U.S. blockade would stay “in full force” until a deal with Iran was “100% complete.”
International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol told AP that Europe had “maybe six weeks or so” of jet fuel left and flight cancellations could come “soon” if Hormuz stayed blocked, calling it “the largest energy crisis we have ever faced,” with Japan, Korea, India, China, Pakistan and Bangladesh hit first.
U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said all Iranian vessels, ships under active sanctions and those suspected of carrying contraband, including oil, weapons, iron and steel, were subject to visit, search and seizure anywhere in the Gulf, Hormuz, the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. At a Pentagon briefing, Gen. Dan Caine said 13 ships had turned back and none had been boarded, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned bombing of Iranian power and energy infrastructure could follow if Iran “chooses poorly.”
CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper said the blockade had been fully implemented within 36 hours and U.S. forces had “completely halted” sea trade in and out of Iran; CENTCOM said no ship passed in the first 24 hours, six merchant vessels were turned back and over 10,000 personnel were involved. A U.S. official said a destroyer turned back two tankers from Chabahar, while tracking data showed some Iran-linked ships still crossing the strait.
The International Energy Agency's April Oil Market Report said global oil supply plunged by 10.1 million barrels a day to 97 mb/d in March as attacks on Middle East energy sites and restrictions on Hormuz tanker traffic caused the largest disruption in history; Hormuz loadings averaged about 3.8 mb/d in early April against more than 20 mb/d in February. It now expects world oil demand to shrink by 80,000 barrels a day in 2026, with a 1.5 mb/d second-quarter drop the sharpest since Covid-19.
The U.S. blockade of all maritime traffic entering or leaving Iranian ports began at 10 a.m. EDT; CENTCOM told mariners that vessels entering or leaving the blockaded area without authorization faced interception, diversion and capture. Trump warned Iranian fast-attack boats approaching the blockade would be “immediately eliminated,” Iran’s armed forces called it illegal “piracy,” and MarineTraffic showed at least two tankers, Rich Starry and Ostria, turning back.
In early trading, U.S. crude rose 8% to $104.24 a barrel and Brent rose 7% to $102.29 after the U.S. said it would blockade Iranian ports, AP reported; Brent had closed Friday at $95.20. Lloyd’s List Intelligence said all traffic through Hormuz stopped after Trump’s announcement.