Iran cargo vessel hit near Qeshm as Hormuz shipping talks loom

An Iranian cargo vessel was hit early on Sunday off Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media reported, a day before Tehran is due to brief regional countries on its disputed plans to manage shipping traffic in the waterway. The reported attack, which killed one person and injured four, has again put the focus on a key global shipping route.

The development comes as tensions over shipping in the wider region have grown in recent days. Last week, Iran-backed Houthi rebels captured an island on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea, raising fresh concerns over another crucial maritime route.

Iran's state-run IRNA news agency quoted the governor of Qeshm as blaming a "terrorist enemy" for the attack. There was no immediate comment from the US military, which has struck Iranian-flagged vessels during its blockade of Iranian ports and is also facing a new threat from Iranian ballistic missiles fired at its warships.

Qeshm Island, about 22 km from the port city of Bandar Abbas, is important to Iran's efforts to assert control over the Strait of Hormuz. Hours before the reported attack, Iran's government struck a defiant note. "Our people can't be bullied into submission. Iran won't surrender," President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a social media post.

US President Donald Trump took a different line on Sunday, saying Iran "wants to make a deal so bad" that "they're calling constantly." The US will "ultimately get out, unless we decide to stay and keep the oil, like Venezuela." Trump made the remarks at his golf course in Doonbeg, Ireland, where he was attending a tournament.

Iran has said foreign ministers from regional countries will meet in Oman on Monday to discuss efforts by Iran and Oman, which lies on the other side of the strait, to manage shipping there. The meeting has renewed regional attention on the Strait of Hormuz days after the Houthis advanced down Yemen's Red Sea coast, putting new pressure on an important alternative route for global shipping.

While the Houthis have said they are targeting only neighbouring Saudi Arabia, which backs Yemen's internationally recognised government, markets remain uneasy and oil prices have risen again. Commercial ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz also remains low as attacks continue on what had been seen as an international waterway before the US and Israel launched the war on February 28.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations monitor said on Sunday that a vessel was struck by a projectile while transiting the strait, though it was not clear if it was referring to the same attack reported by Iran off Qeshm. It said a major fire had broken out and that local authorities were evacuating people on board.

The US has said that substantial volumes of oil are still moving out, with its military helping guide ships along Oman's coast, despite the threat of being hit. So far, only Iraq has publicly confirmed that it will attend Monday's meeting in Oman. It remained unclear which other countries would take part. Bahrain has said it will not attend, citing the absence of diplomatic relations with Tehran.

Since the early stages of the war, Iran has indicated that it wants ships to pay transit fees. It has said traffic into the Persian Gulf would move through Iranian waters, while outbound traffic would pass partly through Iranian waters and partly through Oman's. At the same time, Iran has said that an agreement with Oman on the strait would not necessarily mean it would reopen to shipping.

There has been some optimism in the region ahead of the meeting, with hopes that Gulf countries could use it to put forward a collective response to a war they did not start. For months, they have been dealing with Iranian attacks that Tehran has said are aimed at US military assets on their soil. "Oman is hoping that by presenting this agreement with a reasonable level of regional buy-in, the Trump administration will be forced to recognize that the future of the strait will be decided by regional countries," Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, head of the Bourse & Bazaar Foundation, a think tank focused on Iran's economy, said on social media.

In sum, the reported strike on the Iranian vessel has sharpened attention on the Strait of Hormuz at a time when regional powers are preparing for talks in Oman, and when risks to shipping across West Asia remain high.