Arabic version: الإمارات تدين هجوم إيران؛ الولايات المتحدة تعيد فرض حصار المضيق
The United Arab Emirates accused Iran of a “brazen” attack on two tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, saying one crew member was killed and eight others wounded, four of them seriously. The UAE Ministry of Defence said six of the injured were Indian and two Ukrainian, and described the strike as a serious violation of international law.
According to BBC News, US President Donald Trump announced the reinstatement of a naval blockade of Iranian ports and a 20% charge on all cargo transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The White House said US strikes were launched for a third consecutive night, and US Central Command confirmed strikes on a number of Iranian military targets intended to “further degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it struck the two tankers after they ignored warnings, turned off their navigation systems and attempted to pass through a mined route; the IRGC said it had disabled the vessels. The UAE Ministry of Defence condemned the attack, while Iranian statements warned that cooperation with what it called the “aggressor enemy” would cause regret, damage and delays to reopening the Strait and could create an energy crisis.
The dispute over control of the Strait of Hormuz matters because it is a crucial global shipping lane: the source reports the strait previously carried about 25% of the world’s oil and 20% of global liquefied natural gas. Control of the waterway has been a central flashpoint in clashes between the US and Iran, and earlier disruptions led to sharply reduced maritime traffic and higher oil prices. United Nations rules allowing control of territorial seas up to 12 nautical miles complicate the situation because the strait’s narrowest point lies entirely within Iranian and Omani territorial waters.
What happens next: US Central Command said it will resume blockading maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports on 14 July and will continue to support traffic flow through regional waters for vessels not violating the blockade. The US has also notified Congress that it resumed military action earlier in July, with statutory timelines governing continued operations.
Related sections: General | World/العالم | Economy/اقتصاد | Arab | Middle East/الشرق الأوسط
