Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz came to a near standstill on Thursday after a second consecutive day of US strikes on Iran, with president Donald Trump declaring the ceasefire between the two countries “over.”
Iran struck Kuwait and Bahrain with missiles and drones on Thursday in a retaliation both countries said their air defences had intercepted. US Central Command confirmed additional strikes on Iranian territory, including the nation’s top ports, saying the action was intended to curb Tehran’s ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the strait.
The escalation followed attacks on three commercial vessels transiting the strait on July 6 and 7: Nakilat’s laden LNG carrier Al Rekayyat, Bahri’s VLCC Wedyan, and Sinokor-linked VLCC Cyprus Prosperity. Al Rekayyat was evacuated after a fire broke out in its engine room, raising fears the vessel could explode. The US responded by striking Iranian military sites and reimposing sanctions on Iranian oil exports that had been lifted under last month’s memorandum of understanding between the two countries.
Speaking at the Nato summit in Ankara, Trump said it had been a “waste of time” to negotiate with the “liars” in Tehran’s leadership, and warned further strikes could follow. US vice president JD Vance said Washington would “knock the hell out of them” if Iran kept firing on ships.
Iran’s state broadcaster reported Tehran would respond to any further US attack by closing the strait completely, while Iran’s armed forces said it would treat any state supporting US military action as a legitimate target.
The Joint Maritime Information Centre raised its threat assessment for the strait to severe earlier this week. Iran has justified its attacks by arguing that all transits of the strait’s southern route, jointly administered by Oman and the US, require its own clearance; it has not targeted vessels using the corridor it controls further north.
Ship tracking data showed movements through the strait were confined largely to that Iran-approved northern corridor, while the US-backed Omani route further south lay largely empty. Only a US-sanctioned VLCC and an Iranian-flagged containership were observed among larger vessels crossing on Thursday, though some ships may have been transiting with transponders switched off.
International Maritime Organization (IMO) secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez condemned the attacks and called for restraint. “These reckless attacks have again placed innocent seafarers in grave danger. No seafarer should have to risk their life simply for doing their job,” he said, urging flag states, shipowners and operators to avoid the strait while crew safety could not be assured. Dominguez said close to 6,000 seafarers remained stranded aboard vessels unable to leave the Gulf safely.
An IMO evacuation framework launched last month helped 136 vessels leave the Gulf over four days before it was suspended on June 26, following an attack on the containership Ever Lovely near the southern route.
