Small Boats Approach Tanker, Fire Warning Shots in Hormuz as US‑Iran Fight to Assert Control

A tanker in the Strait of Hormuz reported being approached and fired upon by suspected Iranian boats, heightening tensions in a region already fraught with conflict.

⁠A tanker in the Strait of Hormuz has reported being approached and fired upon by six small boats, most likely of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), 50 nautical miles south of Yemen’s Aden, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) informed on Monday. The development has surfaced as both the US and Iran are firing at each other in a bid to claim control of the strategic sea passage.

According to reports, in this latest development, suspected Iranian boats cornered and fired warning shots at a vessel. It is being speculated that the ships and vessels being targeted by Iran are not following the route approved by Tehran, which has become yet another flash point for the Iranians as they seek to control the maritime route.

The UKMTO has said that authorities are investigating the incident and advised vessels to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity.

The United States and Iran each asserted Monday they controlled the Strait of Hormuz after a weekend of attacks stretching across the wider Middle East, further threatening any diplomacy to end the war.

The latest exchange was sparked by an Iranian attack on a container ship on Sunday in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has asserted control over the critical waterway for international oil and gas since the United States and Israel started the war on February 28.

Iran says it has the right to manage traffic through the strait and potentially charge fees in accordance with an interim peace deal reached last month. The US and others dispute that, citing international law on freedom of navigation, and the American military has tried to establish an alternative route outside of Iranian control.

Calling into Fox News on Monday, US President Donald Trump said, “we’re taking over the Strait.” Trump also said that “everything was agreed to” in an 11-hour meeting Sunday, but that Iranian negotiators had called back later and suggested changes. He did not elaborate.

Iran and the US are nearly halfway through the 60-day period in which they were supposed to negotiate a permanent end to the war and an agreement on Iran’s disputed nuclear program. Instead, a series of attacks over the strait have raised fears of a return to all-out war and further disruption to the global economy.

Oil prices jumped nearly 5% on Monday before falling back. U.S. benchmark crude, which had risen to nearly $120 a barrel at the height of the war, was trading at around $72.92. Markets were mixed.

With inputs from AP