Key facts
- U.S. military forces conducted strikes against Iranian targets in response to attacks on commercial vessels.
- An Iranian drone attack on the Panama-flagged tanker Kiku, carrying over 2 million barrels of crude oil, prompted U.S. retaliatory strikes.
- Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed to have struck U.S. military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain.
- President Donald Trump warned of further military action if Iran continued to violate a ceasefire agreement.
- Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has eased due to operator caution amid renewed hostilities.
Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has eased since late last week as vessel owners and operators remain cautious amid renewed hostilities between Iran and the United States. On Friday and Saturday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted strikes against multiple targets in Iran, in response to attacks on two vessels near the Strait of Hormuz. The Thursday attack on the container ship Ever Lovely prompted some shipowners to pull back and wait for additional information about how safe transiting the Strait is. The U.S. military on Friday carried out strikes on Iran in response to the attack on the vessel. On Saturday, an Iranian attack on a Panama-flagged oil tanker, Kiku, while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz prompted additional strikes by U.S. forces. Kiku was carrying more than 2 million barrels of crude oil, the U.S. armed forces said. CENTCOM stated that after yesterday’s U.S. strikes in response to the Iranian attack on M/V Ever Lovely, Iran was given a chance to honor the ceasefire agreement but elected not to when its forces launched a one-way attack drone that hit M/T Kiku. The attacks on commercial vessels and the U.S. retaliatory attacks on Iran continue to test not only the fragile ceasefire but also the willingness of shipowners and operators to press on with transits through Hormuz. Since a weekly peak of vessels transiting Hormuz on June 24, traffic has materially eased, both in the outbound and inbound directions. After the flare-up this weekend, the U.S. and Iran have reportedly agreed to cease attacks ahead of tentatively planned new talks this week. Although traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has resumed and more vessels are openly broadcasting their position, a return to normality is far from certain and far from near amid persistently volatile operating conditions in the Middle East and its key shipping lane.