A vessel was struck in the Strait of Hormuz late on Saturday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said, as officials from Iran and Gulf states prepared to meet in Oman over shipping through the waterway.
The British maritime security service said it received a report of the attack by an unknown projectile while the vessel was transiting the strait. A fire broke out onboard, and local authorities were helping to evacuate crew members, UKMTO said.
Officials from Iran and Gulf countries are scheduled to meet in Muscat on Monday. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the meeting is intended to “promote better understanding among the countries of the region and help strengthen shared regional security.” A senior Iranian government official and a Gulf diplomat told MS NOW the meeting would include the signing of an agreement establishing an Iran-Oman shipping route through the strait.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned on Sunday that the expected agreement with Muscat would not reopen the waterway. Iran will “provide the participating countries with the details of the agreement with Oman and the maps related to the new route” during the meeting, he told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. Tehran still expects Washington to honour a 60-day memorandum of understanding signed in June that collapsed in July.
Bahrain, a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council, said on Saturday it would not attend. The kingdom said regional security “cannot be preserved through a policy of appeasement” and called for Hormuz to be open without “discrimination, fees or permits.” Bahrain, which cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 2016 and has not restored them, said it would not join any collective meeting including Iran before relations resume.
Iraq and most Gulf nations have not confirmed their attendance. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani visited Tehran late last month in an effort to de-escalate tensions.
Prospects for direct U.S.-Iran diplomacy appeared distant. “No negotiations. Until Iran’s terms are met, talks are futile,” said Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee. Iran wants recognition of its control of the strait, allowing it to collect fees from passing ships, which Washington rejects.
Brent crude settled down 2.8% at $104.61 a barrel on Friday. On Thursday, Brent crude peaked at around $108 a barrel.
The Muscat meeting is scheduled for Monday.