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A ship was hit by a projectile early Tuesday, August 18, as it was sailing out of the Strait of Hormuz, according to the British military’s UK Maritime Trade Operations center.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the attack highlights the ongoing danger of attempting to transit the waterway as Iran continues to throttle shipping traffic, even as it finalises negotiations with Oman on a plan to manage the critical passage.
An unidentified projectile damaged the engine room of the ship and “resulted in a crew casualty” as the vessel was trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman, the UKMTO said, citing a report from the company’s security office.
The maritime monitoring agency did not release any details about the ship or its cargo, and it was not clear whether the crew member was killed in the attack or wounded. It said the Omani Coast Guard was assisting other crew members and that authorities were investigating.
There has been growing concern about oil spilling into the Persian Gulf and other area waters from vessels damaged as they have attempted to transit the strait, but the UKMTO said no environmental damage had been reported in the latest attack.
Iran effectively closed the strait — through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s traded oil supplies passed before the war — after Israel and the US attacked the country on February 28.
The US is also currently blockading all Iranian shipping traffic through the strait.
With negotiations between the US and Iran stalled, Iran has been holding separate talks with Oman on a plan to manage ships transiting the strait, and said Monday it was in the process of finalizing details for a joint statement.
US President Donald Trump reacted angrily, reportedly threatening to Fox News reporter Trey Yingst in a telephone interview that the US would bomb Oman if it “gets in the way.”
Iran’s parliament speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that the Strait of Hormuz will remain shut until the US agrees to their conditions of the interim deal with Iran. He stressed that their demands for the lifting of the naval blockade and sanctions and the release of Iran’s frozen assets must be dealt with.
“Let me state clearly: Until the commitments made by the United States in the memorandum of understanding, including the lifting of the blockade, the release of frozen assets, the lifting of oil sanctions, the end of threats and military operations on all fronts, and other conditions to which America agreed in the memorandum, are implemented, the strait will not be opened,” Ghalibaf said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Israel of actively sabotaging diplomacy, stating that the country is Tehran’s primary obstacle to reaching a lasting ceasefire deal with the US.
According to Iranian news agency IRNA, the FM said, “The Zionist regime was and remains the biggest opponent and obstacle to the implementation of the memorandum of understanding.
He said that Israel made “every effort to prevent such an agreement from being reached, every effort to make this agreement fail, and every effort to prevent it from being implemented.”
Araghchi added that Trump’s demand for an “unconditional surrender” from Iran failed to come to fruition since Tehran accepted a ceasefire and held negotiations with the US on its own conditions.
IRNA reported Araghchi as saying that those who “sought an unconditional surrender, within a short time of the war’s commencement, were begging for negotiations.”
“It was us who said we would not accept a ceasefire and continued the war until we reached a point where they accepted a ceasefire and negotiations on Iran’s terms,” he said.
Israeli forces shelled the outskirts of Majdal Zoun, a town in southern Lebanon, with artillery. Meanwhile, warplanes targeted a nearby town called al-Mansouri with air strike, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported.
Machine gun fire was also directed at the outskirts of the towns of Haddatha and Baraachit.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged US President Donald Trump in a telephone call to continue to seek a diplomatic solution to the conflict with Iran.
The call between the two presidents came late Monday as the 60-day negotiating period to find a peace deal between the United States and Iran was expiring, with no word of an extension and both sides seemingly as far apart as they were at the start.
“President Erdogan said it is important to make maximum use of diplomacy amid tensions between Iran and the United States, expressed our hope that talks will continue, and noted that Turkey will keep supporting efforts toward peace,” according to a statement from the Turkish presidential communications office.
Erdogan also expressed concerns over intensified Israeli actions targeting Palestinians at a time when efforts are underway to move to the second phase of the Gaza agreement, the statement said.
Turkey, a NATO member that borders Iran, earlier this month signed a joint defense agreement with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, which stipulates “that any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all.”
Trump praised the agreement, saying in a social media post that “it shows how the Middle East is coming together, and how Countries will finally be able to defend themselves in a more meaningful way.”
During their conversation, Erdogan told Trump the deal reflected “a strong stance to ensure regional stability and security.”
(With inputs from AP)
This post was last modified on August 18, 2026 4:00 pm