DUBAI, Aug 9 — The UAE accused Iran on Saturday of targeting a tanker belonging to its state-owned oil company in the Strait of Hormuz, even as both Iran and Oman suggested talks on administering the vital waterway were progressing.
Iran has imposed an effective blockade of the strait and wants to charge users for passage, repeatedly attacking ships it accuses of attempting to circumvent its preferred route.
The US vehemently opposes any Iranian tolls in the strait, though a June deal struck by the warring parties does allow Tehran to hammer out arrangements for the “future administration” of Hormuz in conjunction with fellow coastal state Oman.
Continued attacks in the strait, which was free to transit before the war, led to the collapse of an April ceasefire, and mediators have since urged both sides to return to the terms of the June memorandum.
The United Arab Emirates’ foreign ministry on Saturday condemned what it called a “hostile Iranian attack that targeted a tanker belonging to ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company) with a missile while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz, without causing casualties”.
Later on Saturday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said a ship was hit by a projectile off Oman in the Strait of Hormuz, causing a fire that was extinguished but no casualties. It was unclear whether they were referring to the same ship.
On Friday, ADNOC had put out a statement saying that since the start of the war, 15 of its vessels had been attacked in Hormuz, “including three vessels this week alone”.
Oman’s foreign ministry on Saturday condemned “repeated attacks on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz”, without naming Iran.
It also said that “ongoing negotiations regarding navigation arrangements in the Strait of Hormuz are proceeding in a positive and constructive atmosphere”, and urged against any actions that might jeopardise the progress.
The previous Iran-US deal – meant to serve as a jumping-off point for negotiations on a permanent settlement – had said Iran and Oman would hash out future arrangements for the strait in discussion with other Gulf countries and “in line with the applicable international law”.
International law generally forbids tolling in such waterways.
Reopening uncertain
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that talks with Oman were “approaching the final stages”, but cautioned that “this is not a sign of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz”.
“The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is subject to other conditions and compensation for the violation of the memorandum of understanding by the United States,” he said, referencing the June deal.
Iranian security chief Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr on Saturday laid out a laundry list of preconditions for reopening the strait, including an end to the “war and aggression against Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, and Iraq”.
He also demanded the lifting of a parallel US naval blockade of Iran, the end of sanctions, the release of frozen assets, and compensation for wartime damage, according to remarks reported by Tasnim news agency.
The Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the Iranian military, underscored the point, saying Hormuz’s reopening had “nothing to do with the negotiations between Iran and Oman”, adding that the “enemy is forced to accept Iran’s conditions for the opening of the strait”.
Meanwhile, Israel’s public broadcaster reported that US Admiral Brad Cooper – head of US Central Command, which leads Middle East operations – paid quick visits to Gulf allies the UAE and Bahrain, as well as Israel.
Cooper reportedly met with Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir, Kan said, describing the visit as a “multi-front situation assessment”. – AFP
