An alleged strike by Iran-backed Houthi rebels on a cargo vessel killed at least four people near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait off the coast of southern Yemen, the country’s internationally recognised government said Tuesday. The strike marks the latest fatal attack on a ship in the contested Red Sea waterway after the Houthis announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia last month, AFP reported.

An alleged strike by Iran-backed Houthi rebels on a cargo vessel killed at least four people near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait off the coast of southern Yemen, the country’s internationally recognised government said Tuesday. The strike marks the latest fatal attack on a ship in the contested Red Sea waterway after the Houthis announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia last month, AFP reported.

Iran-US War News Live Updates: Oil prices rose and stock markets mostly fell Tuesday as hopes that the United States and Iran would soon reach a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz faded, fanning inflation fears. Crude has surged over the past week with the two sides appearing no closer to a deal on the crucial waterway despite upbeat comments from the White House earlier in the month. “Brent crude has put on $10 in less than a week, which is a significant move,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, AFP reported.

A container ship was reportedly hit ​by a missile off ​the coast of Pakistan on Tuesday, according to United Kingdom Maritime ​Trade Operations (UKMTO).

An Israeli double-tap strike on southern Lebanon wounded two people on Tuesday and damaged an ambulance, the Lebanese health ministry said, condemning the “continued targeting” of rescuers. The incident is the latest Israeli strike despite an ongoing truce in the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, AFP reported.

A Pakistani national and an Indonesian citizen were killed after a commercial vessel came under a ballistic missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, according to reports.

The incident adds to the continuing security risks facing commercial shipping in waters connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had received a report concerning an incident involving a tanker and military forces in the Gulf of Oman.

The UKMTO did not disclose details about what transpired or identify the vessels or military forces involved. It said the relevant authorities had been informed and that investigations into the incident were continuing.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused the United States of making a dramatic shift in its approach to Tehran, claiming Washington moved from demanding Iran’s unconditional surrender to seeking negotiations within weeks.

Speaking at a televised press conference carried by Iranian state television, Araghchi recalled US President Donald Trump’s stance at the outset of the conflict, when Trump publicly called for Iran to surrender without conditions.

“The US president wrote two words [on social media] at the beginning of the war: ‘Unconditional surrender’,” he said.

Araghchi said Washington’s position subsequently changed, alleging that the same side that had demanded capitulation was seeking talks just 20 days later.

“That was what they wanted from us and, 20 days later, the same enemy was begging for negotiations,” the top diplomat added.

Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz dropped to six vessels on Monday, falling well below the waterway’s recent 10-day average of around 11 ships, according to Kpler data cited by Reuters on Tuesday.

The latest figures come amid weakening expectations of a potential peace agreement between Iran and the United States.

Four commodity-carrying vessels were recorded entering the strategic waterway by 0420 GMT, including two oil product tankers that were sailing without cargo, the data showed.

Two other vessels moved out of the strait during the same period. One was a smaller tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas, while the other was transporting residual fuel products.

The decline in vessel movements underscores the continued uncertainty surrounding shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global energy route connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman.

The head of the Iran-China Chamber of Commerce has warned Tehran against trying to adjust to the US maritime blockade, arguing that the country must instead find a way to end it.

Majid Reza Hariri said efforts to work around the blockade could recreate the problems Iran experienced while attempting to evade economic sanctions, including higher trade costs, economic weakening and increased corruption.

“Whether through negotiations, requests, threats, or even using force and starting a war again, this maritime blockade must end,” Hariri told Iranian news outlet KhabarOnline.

Hariri said accepting the blockade as a long-term reality and restructuring the economy around it would be particularly damaging for Iran.

“The worst thing that could happen today is to think we can bypass the maritime blockade and try to run the country despite it,” Hariri said. “We must not allow our economy – or the enemy – to get used to the maritime blockade.”

His remarks come amid mounting pressure on Iran over the US maritime restrictions and their potential impact on the country’s trade and economy. Hariri argued that simply finding alternative ways to continue commerce under the blockade would carry significant economic costs and could leave Iran repeating the experience of sanctions evasion.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday that three Israeli civilians were detained after crossing into Syrian territory overnight from the Jabal al-Sheikh, also known as Mount Hermon, area.

According to the military, troops were sent to locate the three individuals and bring them back into Israeli-controlled territory. They were subsequently handed over to police.

The incident comes amid an increase in unauthorised crossings by Israelis into Syria in recent months. Israeli Army Radio reported last month, citing military figures, that at least 17 such incidents had been recorded, involving more than 150 people who were intercepted and handed over to police.

Despite the growing number of crossings, only three cases had reportedly been referred by police to prosecutors for consideration of possible charges, according to Army Radio.

US President Donald Trump on Monday sought to downplay differences with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying their relationship remains “very good” despite Netanyahu’s rejection of a US-backed proposal for Gaza.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Iran will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the United States lifts its naval blockade on Iranian ports.

Tehran has also demanded compensation for damage caused during months of war, the lifting of economic sanctions and the release of Iran’s frozen assets as conditions for reopening the crucial waterway.

The continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz has emerged as one of the most significant consequences of the conflict. The strategic waterway normally carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s traded oil supplies, making its prolonged closure a major concern for global energy markets.

An Iranian assassination threat targeting US President Donald Trump triggered a covert security operation in which he secretly flew out of Turkey aboard an alternate military aircraft, even as the White House publicly maintained that he was travelling on Air Force One, according to a report by The Washington Post.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul discussed the situation in the Strait of Hormuz and efforts to end the ongoing conflict in a phone call, Al Jazeera reported. Araghchi said security in the strait depended on halting US military operations.

He also urged the international community to hold Washington responsible for any security and economic fallout from a possible closure of the waterway. Wadephul called on Iran to engage constructively with regional countries and the US to help end the conflict, and stressed that the Strait of Hormuz should be reopened unconditionally to ensure safe and free navigation.

US President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States has “mine-swept the entire” Strait of Hormuz and claimed the US Navy has full control of the vital waterway. “It’s open now. Look, the only one that has control of the Strait of Hormuz right now is the United States Navy,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. He added that US forces had detected and cleared mines allegedly placed in the strait, saying, “They will, on occasion, drop a mine, and we find the mine.”

US President Donald Trump on Monday claimed that the US Navy has “100%” control over the Strait of Hormuz, saying Washington has imposed an “infallible” blockade that restricts vessels from entering Iran. Trump described the blockade as a “steel wall” and said ships allowed through the strategic waterway could enter and exit, but would not be permitted to proceed to Iran.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei on Tuesday criticised the US administration over its sanctions policy, accusing Washington of being “addicted” to economic restrictions after US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent reportedly claimed that sanctions were “suffocating” Iran.

In a post on X, Baqaei said the repeated use of sanctions reflected the United States’ inability to pursue diplomacy. “This is no longer ‘policy’—it is ‘habit’; and more dangerously still, it is an addiction that has displaced thought itself.”

US President Donald Trump on Monday demanded that Iran pay compensation for deaths and injuries linked to attacks and conflicts over decades, after Tehran itself called for compensation from Washington as part of any deal to end the war.

READ MORE

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Monday appointed a new chief of the armed forces and a new commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), putting his stamp on the country’s military leadership amid the ongoing war with the United States.

Major General Ali Abdollahi was named chief of staff of the armed forces, while Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi was appointed commander-in-chief of the IRGC with the rank of major general, according to a statement on Khamenei’s website.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE