An Iranian commercial container ship has been attacked near Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz early on Sunday morning. The attack killed one crew member and injured four others. Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) quoted the governor of Qeshm Island said that an "enemy, terrorist, [has attacked] the Islamic Republic of Iran". He added that he had not yet found out whether the attack had been carried out with a rocket or not.
The UKMTO / Maritime Trade Information Monica / website also reported that a projectile had struck a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz causing a fire and that the local authorities were undertaking an evacuation of the vessel and her crew. So far no claim of responsibility for this attack has been issued. The US Military have so far said nothing about this attack.
The attack occurred on Qeshm Island which is located approximately 14 miles south of Bandar Abbas, Iran. The strategic location of Qeshm Island is central to Iran's bid to take control of the Strait of Hormuz, a global energy choke point through which passes a large proportion of the world's oil.
Iran had been hosting a meeting of regional diplomatic figures scheduled to take place in Oman on Monday to outline the Islamic Republic's plans to control shipping through the Strait in return for transit fees being paid to Tehran by vessels passing through the waterway. However, it is understood that at least one country from the Gulf — Bahrain — will not be sending any representatives to the gathering as Tehran does not have any diplomatic relations with the island nation.
Iran's plan to collect transit fees from commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz has been put into practice by the US and Israel since February 28, 2026, when they launched an operation against Iran. Since then, the US Navy is patrolling Iranian territorial waters in the strait and guiding commercial shipping through an alternative route along the coast of Oman. The latter route too is, from time to time, targeted by Iranian ballistic missiles at US warships.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran would not be "bullied into submission" in a series of tweets posted just hours before the attack on the Iranian ship. In a separate incident on the same day, Houthi forces launched an attack on a Saudi military position in the Al-Tawwal Governorate, located in the Jazan region of Saudi Arabia. The assault resulted in the wounding of two people, with damage to a local mosque and several other buildings. The conflict continues to have secondary effects at the Red Sea/Bab el-Mandeb chokepoints.
Prior to departing with Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Trump spoke by phone with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, assuring him that the situation would "work out fine and dandy" but offered no further information.
