Today the ships heading towards the Strait of Hormuz have started returning. The Iranian military has reiterated that strict restrictions on the movement of commercial ships will remain in place as long as the US blockade continues.
Ships such as Al Ghashamiya, carrying LNG, and Stee-Elysees, carrying crude oil, were headed towards Indian ports, but are stuck in the gulf and ship monitoring equipment shows they are changing course.
Earlier, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said that it had received a report of firing on a tanker. According to the agency, the shooting was carried out by “two gunboats belonging to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)” 20 nautical miles north-east of Oman.
UKMTO said in its advisory note that the captain of the tanker said that both the gunboats had started firing without any radio warning. The agency further said that the vessel and its crew were reported to be safe.
Three tankers were seen passing through the strait
Three tankers under US sanctions – Guardian, Ren and Crewe – were seen passing through the strait this morning and have now reached the Gulf of Oman without any hindrance, although they may have to turn back due to the US blockade.
Speaking aboard Air Force One yesterday, Trump said he might not extend the ceasefire between the US and Iran if negotiations do not reach an agreement to end the war by Wednesday. The President added, “If I don’t move forward with this, then there will be a blockade again, and unfortunately we will have to start bombing again.”
He also said the United States would somehow obtain Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, and warned that if negotiations failed, it could be done “in a much more unfriendly way.”