DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) 鈥� A United Nations agency paused the evacuation of ships through on Thursday after the British military said a vessel was hit by a projectile off the coast of Oman following the passage of several tankers that used a route backed by the U.N.
The head of the International Maritime Organization said the plan to move stranded ships out of the Persian Gulf 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 report of a strike came hours after vessels to stop using the route through the strait without Tehran鈥檚 permission. The vessel that was attacked was not part of the evacuation effort, said Arsenio Dominguez, the U.N. agency鈥檚 secretary-general.
A U.S. official told The Associated Press that the vessel was hit by an Iranian drone.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive situation, said the merchant vessel Ever Lovely was attacked by a drone being flown by the Iran鈥檚 paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
Following reports of the attack, 鈥� a new government agency established to control shipping in the strait 鈥� wrote on X that transit outside its own designated routes 鈥渨ill not be covered by the guarantee of safe passage.鈥�
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said the vessel sustained damage, but it reported no injuries or environmental effects from the attack off the coast of Oman.
An alternative passage would relieve pressure on economy
The opening of an alternative passage through the vital waterway would and remove Iran鈥檚 main source of leverage in with the United States. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on a visit to the Gulf to reassure American allies, said Washington was committed to the new route and ensuring that ships are able to transit the strait.
鈥淚f that stops, then we鈥檙e going to have a problem,鈥� Rubio said Thursday before the report of the strike on the ship.
Traffic through the strait increased in recent days but was still well below prewar levels. Oil on Thursday briefly dipped below its last prewar price of just under $73 per barrel, a sign that the market believes the situation is improving.
The U.S. and Iran are still debating terms of an interim peace deal, including issues such as getting ships through the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf and addressing the future of .
Under the memorandum of understanding , the U.S. and Iran have 60 days to iron out the details. As talks are held behind closed doors, U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian leaders have seemed to negotiate in public, trading threats and .
Meanwhile, a flare-up of fighting in Lebanon between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants threatened the wider truce. Lebanon says five people have been killed by Israeli strikes over the past two days. Iran says the would require Israel to withdraw from Lebanon 鈥� a condition Israel has rejected.
More ships pass through the strait, but far fewer than before the war
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.
North of the route is a corridor in the center of the strait where ships moved freely before the war, transporting about a fifth of all the world鈥檚 oil and natural gas.
Iran said it mined that passage after the U.S. and Israel attacked it on Feb. 28. At least one mine has been sighted there.
Though some ships had been getting out of the strait, with U.S. military support, the U.N. agency’s effort was the latest to free trapped vessels. The shipping company Maersk said its container ship, the Maersk Baltimore, and another chartered vessel made it out on Thursday.
Last week, 125 vessels crossed the strait, up from 33 the week before, according to marine data and analysis firm Lloyd鈥檚 List Intelligence.
According to S&P Global, Wednesday saw 78 transits, the most since the war began, but still below the daily prewar average of 130 or more.
Iran says the new shipping route is 鈥榰nacceptable鈥�
The naval arm of the Revolutionary Guard issued a warning Thursday against using the new route.
In a statement carried by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency, naval officials said the route was established without notice or coordination with Iran, calling it 鈥渦nacceptable and completely dangerous.鈥�
鈥淭he only authorized route for passing through the Strait of Hormuz is the one declared by the Islamic Republic of Iran,鈥� the Iranian force said. 鈥淰essel traffic outside these routes is extremely dangerous and prohibited.鈥�
鈥淰iolators will be dealt with,鈥� it added, without elaborating.
On Wednesday, the Guard threatened one tanker over the radio, with a soldier warning, 鈥淵ou are in range of my missiles and maybe (I) fire on you,鈥� according to the private security firm Ambrey.
Rubio says the US will ensure there are no tolls on ships
Rubio met with foreign ministers from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council to assure them that their interests would be protected in any agreement with Iran.
Those countries, including major energy producers reliant on the strait for exports, came under attack by Iran after the start of the war.
鈥淭here is no part in this deal that鈥檚 undertaken that in any way undermines the security, the stability or the prosperity of any of our partners in the Gulf region,鈥� Rubio said at the meeting in Bahrain.
Bahrain鈥檚 foreign minister, Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani, said the agreement brought a glimmer of hope but stressed that it was 鈥渃ritically important that Iran adheres to its obligations.鈥�
Lebanon remains a flashpoint
A lull in fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah that started Sunday began to show cracks after Israel said it targeted Hezbollah militants.
Lebanon鈥檚 health ministry said Thursday that three people were killed by an Israeli strike on a car in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah has called the recent strikes a ceasefire violation but has not retaliated. The Israeli military said Thursday that it fired on two separate groups it suspected of being Hezbollah members. The strikes came as Lebanese and Israeli officials were in Washington discussing a proposed phased withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon.
Israel鈥檚 military also said Thursday that a reservist soldier was killed in southern Lebanon.
___
Lee reported from Manama, Bahrain. Associated Press writers David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany, and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
