Shipping Monitor Issues Alerts On Maritime Incidents In Middle East
A British shipping security monitor has issued three incident reports involving commercial vessels in the Middle East.
In its latest alert, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said that on July 17 a vessel was boarded by "unauthorised personnel" around 65 nautical miles south of Al Mukalla, Yemen, while transiting east through the Gulf of Aden. Authorities are investigating.
UKMTO also reported that a tanker was hit the previous day by an "unknown projectile" 19 nautical miles east of Khasab, Oman, sustaining minor structural damage. It said all crew were safe and accounted for, no environmental impact had been reported, and the vessel was continuing to its next port of call.
In a another report issued on July 17, UKMTO said that a merchant tanker was "subject to interactions" with military forces in the Arabian Gulf on July 15 "as part of ongoing military activity in the region."
UKMTO said investigations into all three incidents are continuing and it urged vessels in the region to exercise caution.
US Military Completes Sixth Night Of Strikes On Iran
US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that it had completed its latest major wave of strikes against Iran, marking the sixth consecutive night of US strikes on the country.
CENTCOM said its forces, including fighter jets, drones, and warships, launched precision munitions, further degrading Iran's military capabilities and holding the country accountable for its recent attacks on commercial shipping.
More than 50,000 US service members are operating across the Middle East, it added.
Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar Respond To Apparent Iranian Attacks
Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar reported missile and drone strikes early on July 17 in apparent attacks by Tehran after the US launched its sixth straight night of military action against sites in southern Iran.
"Kuwaiti air defenses are currently engaging hostile missiles and drone attacks following the sinful Iranian aggression," the Kuwaiti military wrote on X.
Bahrain's Interior Ministry said that a siren had been sounded and it urged citizens to take shelter.
The Iranian military said it was targeting US helicopters and planes based at an air base in Bahrain "in response to the enemy's hostile action in targeting urban infrastructure and innocent people."
In the Qatari capital, Doha, authorities reported intercepting "a number" of incoming projectiles as authorities issued security alerts to mobile phones in the small Gulf nation.
US Marines Board Ship In Gulf Of Oman To Enforce 'Steel Wall' Blockade
The US military said Marines boarded a vessel in the Gulf of Oman to "conduct a verification" as part of the US blockade of Iranian ports.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the ship, the M/T Wen Yao, was boarded while transiting the waterway on July 16. The ownership of the vessel was not immediately known.
CENTCOM also said US forces also redirected three commercial vessels trying to run its blockade and disabled another ship to ensure compliance with the "steel wall" blockade.
"As of today, American forces have redirected 3 commercial vessels trying to run the blockade, disabled 1 that didn’t comply, and boarded 1 to ensure full compliance with the ongoing U.S. naval blockade against Iran," CENTCOM said on X.
The statement did not specify how the one vessel was "disabled."
The latest blockade too effect on the night of July 14-15. During the initial US blockade of Iranian ports from April 13 to June 18, US forces disabled at least nine vessels and redirected some 140, CENTCOM has said.
Iranian Media Reports US Strikes At Several Sites In South Of Country
Iranian state media early on July 17 reported explosions and attacks at several sites, although the reports could not immediately be confirmed and the US military did not specify its areas of operations.
Strikes around the Gulf island of Qeshm near the Strait of Hormuz, the focal point of the conflict in recent weeks, were reported by Iranian media.
Tasnim news agency reported that US fighter jets had attack the airport in Iranshahr, a city of about 100,000 people some 300 kilometers from the Gulf of Oman in the south of Iran.
Separately, Fars news agency said that a bridge in Bandar Khamir had been targeted in a US attack. Bandar Khamir is on the Iranian mainland across from oft-struck Qeshm Island overlooking the Strait of Hormuz
Explosions were reported in Bushehr – the city is home to Iran's only civilian nuclear plant, which state TV called a "continuation of the American enemy aggression."
Explosions in coastal Bandar Abbas and near Ahvaz, where residents told AFP that they had heard strong blasts for the second straight night.
The reports of US strikes come after the US military said it launched a new wave of air strikes on Iranian targets.
"At 2 p.m. ET today, US forces began conducting a new wave of strikes against Iran for the fifth consecutive night to further degrade Iranian military capabilities," US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement on July 16.
CENTCOM did not immediately provide details of the attacks.
US Says It Is Hitting Iran Again In Fresh Wave Of Strikes
The US military said it launched a new wave of air strikes on Iranian targets despite signs of a possible move toward avoiding a full resumption of the war with Tehran's release of a US national from detention.
"At 2 p.m. ET today, US forces began conducting a new wave of strikes against Iran for the fifth consecutive night to further degrade Iranian military capabilities," US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement on July 16.
Iranian media reported strikes around the Gulf island of Qeshm near the Strait of Hormuz, the focal point of the conflict in recent weeks.
Reports from around the Gulf said Tehran had launched its own attacks on targets throughout the region, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) saying it struck a US airbase in Jordan with ballistic missiles after accusing the United States of an attack near a children's cancer hospital in Iran.
Some media reports also said there were explosions in Kuwait, though the Dubai Media Office rejected the claims.
Despite fears that Washington and Tehran are on the edge of a return to a full-blown war, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said on July 16 Iran continues to talk and is seeking to make a deal.
"The reason for the recent strikes over the course of the last several days is because Iran violated the memorandum of understanding that we struck with them," Leavitt said.
"Specifically, in the memorandum of understanding that they signed, they were not to fire on commercial vessels moving through the Strait of Hormuz, and unfortunately they have made the tragic decision for them to do that."
Hopes the two sides may be moving toward a rapprochement were buoyed late on July 15 when Tehran allowed a US national who Washington says was "wrongfully detained" since 2024 to leave the country.
"The United States of America appreciates this gesture of Goodwill by Iran!" President Donald Trump said in a social media post.
Human rights attorney Jared Genser identified the American as Dena Karari, saying she was free after being brought up on "bogus charges."
Maritime Security Center Keeps Hormuz Threat Level At 'Severe'
Commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz continued at reduced levels on July 16 despite the heightened security situation, according to the Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC), which said US-assisted transits through the strategic waterway were continuing .
The advisory said some shipping companies had delayed voyages following recent attacks, while vessels continued using both the southern Omani shipping corridor and the northern Iranian-controlled route.
The JMIC said Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps continued to harass commercial vessels through radio hailing, drone overflights, and "targeted surveillance."
The maritime security information center maintained its regional threat level at "severe," citing the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, the disabling of a vessel attempting to breach it, and the continued risk from drifting mines as well as ongoing interference with satellite navigation systems.
Iran Deal Must Put Iranians At The Center, Policy Analyst Elizabeth Kennedy Trudeau Says
WASHINGTON -- As tensions between the US and Iran intensifies, with renewed military strikes and growing arguments around the Strait of Hormuz, global attention has focused on regional security, commercial shipping, and the risk of wider escalation.
But Elizabeth Kennedy Trudeau, a former senior US diplomat who is currently the Bradford M. Freeman Managing Director of Global Policy at the George W. Bush Institute, argues that the most important story is unfolding inside Iran itself.
In an interview with RFE/RL, Trudeau says the daily lives, rights, and freedoms of ordinary Iranians must become a central part of any diplomatic process.
Read more here
Drone Strikes Reported At Iraq's Basra Port
Reports from Iraq say drones struck two vessels at the port of Basra.
A security official told the AFP news agency that a drone hit a ship “carrying American-branded cars” near an oil terminal on July 16. The vessel had arrived from the United Arab Emirates, the official said.
Separately, four Iraqi oil and security sources told Reuters that crude-oil loading at all Iraqi terminals had been halted after a drone struck an oil tanker at the Basra terminal.
Responding to the reports, an Iraqi Oil Ministry spokesman said crude loading at the country’s southern terminals had been temporarily suspended but later resumed. The ministry also said that officials were investigating reports that an unidentified “object” had fallen onto an oil tanker.
Iraqi sources said the incident caused no damage or fire.
With reporting by AFP and Reuters
What Is Iran's Secretive Pickaxe Mountain?
- By Kian Sharifi
Satellite images show Iran is accelerating work at a secretive nuclear-related site deep beneath Kuh-e Kolang mountain, known as Pickaxe Mountain.
Intelligence agencies suspect this is where Iran is seeking to build a secret uranium enrichment facility.
What do we know about one of the most fortified sites in Iran, which US President Donald Trump has threatened to attack?
