Iranian Drone Attack on Cargo Ship Tests Strait Deal with US

Iranian Revolutionary Guards launched a drone at a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz after anger over Oman’s role in letting vessels pass through alternative routes without coordinating with Tehran. The strike halted shipping in the strategic waterway and, according to Iranian officials, was meant to send a message and reassert Iran’s control over the passage.

An Iranian official told The New York Times that Tehran is furious because Oman is allowing ships to move through the strait without prior approval from the Revolutionary Guards. The official said Oman is caught between US pressure to keep the route fully open and Iran’s insistence on managing traffic there without foreign interference. He added that Oman cannot provide real security guarantees for ships without Iranian involvement.

The attack took place near Oman’s coast and hit a Singapore-flagged cargo vessel. Two US officials told The Wall Street Journal that the Revolutionary Guards were behind the strike. The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency said the ship’s bridge was damaged, and no injuries were reported. The incident came just hours after the Revolutionary Guards Navy warned vessels in the strait not to use routes that had not been preapproved by the regime.

The strike threatens a memorandum of understanding signed last week between Washington and Tehran, which was meant to help pave the way toward a formal end to the war and was set for 60 days. Under the deal, Iran pledged to make every effort to ensure the safe passage of commercial ships, while the US agreed to lift the blockade on Iranian ports and, this week, waived sanctions on Iranian oil sales, allowing Tehran to sell oil in dollars for the first time in decades. The UN International Maritime Organization had announced a major evacuation coordination effort for hundreds of stranded ships in the Persian Gulf, but paused it hours after the drone attack to reassess security guarantees.