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A British maritime authority reported that a cargo vessel sustained a direct hit from an unidentified projectile early Tuesday while transiting the Strait of Hormuz approximately 23 miles northeast of Al Khasab in Oman. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center logged the incident at 2 a.m. local time but disclosed no additional details regarding the ship’s registry, cargo manifest, or structural damage from the strike.
The waterway, which funnels roughly one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas exports, has been rendered largely impassable since February due to Iranian attacks on merchant vessels and concurrent U.S. naval blockades targeting Iranian ports throughout the Persian Gulf’s mouth.
President Donald Trump claimed Monday that direct negotiations with Tehran have commenced, walking back threats of extensive military strikes at the request of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Trump asserted that talks were proceeding despite Iranian public denials, declaring the diplomatic engagement a fact “whether Iran wants to admit it or not.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei rejected Trump’s characterization, insisting Tehran was conducting discussions exclusively with Oman regarding maritime passage safety and establishing no bilateral talks with Washington. The spokesman emphasized that Omani mediation focused solely on creating protected shipping corridors through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump expressed exasperation on his Truth Social platform, accusing Iranian leadership of duplicitous behavior and claiming Tehran had initiated the dialogue request before publicly denying any discussions were occurring.
Gaza held a mass funeral Tuesday for 112 Palestinians whose remains were recovered after nearly three years buried beneath rubble in Gaza City from a November 22, 2023, Israeli airstrike that killed over 300 people. Rescue teams spent 136 hours excavating the residential neighborhood, uncovering bodies of 40 children, 30 women, and seven individuals with disabilities, while 157 people remained unaccounted for under the debris.
The Gaza conflict erupted October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led forces attacked Israel, killing approximately 1,200 and capturing 251 hostages. The subsequent Israeli military campaign has resulted in 73,375 deaths in Gaza according to the Health Ministry, with figures regarded as broadly credible by the United Nations despite not differentiating civilian and combatant casualties.
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