UN agency pauses evacuation of ships through the Strait of Hormuz after
attack on vessel
[June 26, 2026]
By JON GAMBRELL, MATTHEW LEE AND KONSTANTIN TOROPIN
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A United Nations agency paused the
evacuation of ships through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday after the
British military said a vessel was hit by a projectile off the coast of
Oman following the passage of several tankers that used a route backed
by the U.N.
The head of the International Maritime Organization said the plan to
move stranded ships out of the Persian Gulf through the strait will be
on hold until the agency can confirm safety guarantees for the ships on
the evacuation list and in the region.
The report of a strike came hours after Iran threatened vessels to stop
using the route through the strait without Tehran’s permission. The
vessel that was attacked was not part of the evacuation effort, said
Arsenio Dominguez, the U.N. agency’s secretary-general.
A U.S. official told The Associated Press that the vessel was hit by an
Iranian drone.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive
situation, said the merchant vessel Ever Lovely was attacked by a drone
being flown by the Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
Following reports of the attack, Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority —
a new government agency established to control shipping in the strait —
wrote on X that transit outside its own designated routes “will not be
covered by the guarantee of safe passage.”
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said the vessel
sustained damage, but it reported no injuries or environmental effects
from the attack off the coast of Oman.
An alternative passage would relieve pressure on economy
The opening of an alternative passage through the vital waterway would
relieve pressure on the world economy and remove Iran’s main source of
leverage in ongoing peace talks with the United States. U.S. Secretary
of State Marco Rubio, on a visit to the Gulf to reassure American
allies, said Washington was committed to the new route and ensuring that
ships are able to transit the strait.
“If that stops, then we’re going to have a problem,” Rubio said Thursday
before the report of the strike on the ship.
Traffic through the strait increased in recent days but was still well
below prewar levels. Oil on Thursday briefly dipped below its last
prewar price of just under $73 per barrel, a sign that the market
believes the situation is improving.
The U.S. and Iran are still debating terms of an interim peace deal,
including issues such as getting ships through the narrow mouth of the
Persian Gulf and addressing the future of Iran’s stockpile of highly
enriched uranium.
Under the memorandum of understanding signed last week, the U.S. and
Iran have 60 days to iron out the details. As talks are held behind
closed doors, U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian leaders have
seemed to negotiate in public, trading threats and claiming concessions
the other side denies.
Meanwhile, a flare-up of fighting in Lebanon between Israel and
Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants threatened the wider truce. Lebanon
says five people have been killed by Israeli strikes over the past two
days. Iran says the tentative deal to end the war would require Israel
to withdraw from Lebanon — a condition Israel has rejected.
More ships pass through the strait, but far fewer than before the war
Oil tankers, led by the Stoic Warrior vessel, sailed along the United
Arab Emirates and then Oman early Thursday, passing by Oman's Musandam
Peninsula fairly close to the shore. The route was laid out by Oman and
the International Maritime Organization.
North of the route is a corridor in the center of the strait where ships
moved freely before the war, transporting about a fifth of all the
world’s oil and natural gas.
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Iran said it mined that passage after the U.S. and Israel attacked
it on Feb. 28. At least one mine has been sighted there.
Though some ships had been getting out of the strait, with U.S.
military support, the U.N. agency's effort was the latest to free
trapped vessels. The shipping company Maersk said its container
ship, the Maersk Baltimore, and another chartered vessel made it out
on Thursday.
Last week, 125 vessels crossed the strait, up from 33 the week
before, according to marine data and analysis firm Lloyd’s List
Intelligence.
According to S&P Global, Wednesday saw 78 transits, the most since
the war began, but still below the daily prewar average of 130 or
more.
Iran says the new shipping route is ‘unacceptable’
The naval arm of the Revolutionary Guard issued a warning Thursday
against using the new route.
In a statement carried by Iran's state-run IRNA news agency, naval
officials said the route was established without notice or
coordination with Iran, calling it “unacceptable and completely
dangerous.”
“The only authorized route for passing through the Strait of Hormuz
is the one declared by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the Iranian
force said. “Vessel traffic outside these routes is extremely
dangerous and prohibited.”
“Violators will be dealt with,” it added, without elaborating.
On Wednesday, the Guard threatened one tanker over the radio, with a
soldier warning, “You are in range of my missiles and maybe (I) fire
on you,” according to the private security firm Ambrey.
Rubio says the US will ensure there are no tolls on ships
Rubio met with foreign ministers from the six-nation Gulf
Cooperation Council to assure them that their interests would be
protected in any agreement with Iran.
Those countries, including major energy producers reliant on the
strait for exports, came under attack by Iran after the start of the
war.
“There is no part in this deal that’s undertaken that in any way
undermines the security, the stability or the prosperity of any of
our partners in the Gulf region,” Rubio said at the meeting in
Bahrain.
Bahrain’s foreign minister, Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani, said
the agreement brought a glimmer of hope but stressed that it was
“critically important that Iran adheres to its obligations.”
Lebanon remains a flashpoint
A lull in fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah that started
Sunday began to show cracks after Israel said it targeted Hezbollah
militants.
Lebanon’s health ministry said Thursday that three people were
killed by an Israeli strike on a car in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah has called the recent strikes a ceasefire violation but
has not retaliated. The Israeli military said Thursday that it fired
on two separate groups it suspected of being Hezbollah members. The
strikes came as Lebanese and Israeli officials were in Washington
discussing a proposed phased withdrawal of Israeli troops from
southern Lebanon.
Israel’s military also said Thursday that a reservist soldier was
killed in southern Lebanon.
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Lee reported from Manama, Bahrain. Associated Press writers David
McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany, and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem
contributed to this report.
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