Attack Halts Evacuation Through Strait of Hormuz

A United Nations maritime agency paused the evacuation of ships through the Strait of Hormuz after the British military said a vessel was hit Thursday by a projectile off the coast of Oman. The head of the International Maritime Organization said the plan to move stranded ships 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 AP reports.

• It was unclear who launched the projectile, though a US official told CBS News that Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps was behind the attack. The report of a strike came hours after Iran warned vessels to stop using a UN-approved route through the strait without Tehran's permission. Following reports of the attack, Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority—a new government agency Iran 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 cargo ship sustained damage, but it reported no injuries. Vanguard, a maritime risk management firm, said the Singapore-flagged Ever Lovely passed through the strait despite the attack, the BBC reports.
• 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. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on a visit to the Gulf to reassure American allies, said Washington was committed to the new route and making sure ships were able to transit the strait. "If that stops, then we're going to have a problem," Rubio said earlier Thursday.
• Traffic through the strait had increased in recent days but was still well below prewar levels. 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. The UN says hundreds of ships and more than 11,000 seafarers remain stranded in the strait.

• The naval arm of the Revolutionary Guard issued a warning Thursday against using the route. It said the new 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.
• IMO chief Arsenio Dominguez said the ship that was attacked wasn't part of the evacuation effort. "I have always reiterated that the safety of the seafarers remains paramount," he said. "Therefore, to ensure a coordinated approach and navigational safety, the evacuation plan will be paused until further clarity is obtained."