Trump blames Iran for a drone strike on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz

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The British military said on Thursday that a container ship was hit a projectile off the coast of Oman, coming hours after Iran threatened vessels to stop using the route. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said no injuries were reported.

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The development came during a fragile time for the U.S. and Iran as they work to negotiate a permanent end to the war. Iran has increasingly challenged the region and the U.S. over its control of the Strait of Hormuz, even with the current interim deal it reached with the U.S. last week.

The attack on the cargo ship happened while a United Nations maritime agency was beginning an operation to move stranded ships out of the strait this week, using an alternative route, hugging the shores of Oman rather than sailing through the central part of the strait.

The International Maritime Organization halted the evacuations after the attack and said on Friday they won’t resume until there are guarantees that the other ships won’t be attacked.

About 115 ships were able to move out of the strait in recent days, leaving about 500 still in the area, said Arsenio Dominguez, the agency’s secretary-general.

The opening of the alternative passage through the strait was expected to relieve pressure on the world economy and remove Iran’s main source of leverage in ongoing peace talks with the U.S.

The U.S. and Iran are still negotiating terms of the deal, including issues such as getting ships through the key strait and addressing the future of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Under the interim deal, the two sides have 60 days to work out the details.

Cargo ship attack poses a test for shipping

Shipping analysts said the drone strike cast a shadow over what had been a growing stream of trapped vessels finally leaving the Gulf and an increasing flow of tankers carrying crude oil.

“A week of widening commercial confidence in the Strait of Hormuz has hit its first significant test,” said marine data company Windward on X. It said that while the strait remains operationally open with 43 transits recorded after the incident, “the pace of normalization has slowed.”

On Wednesday before Thursday’s drone strike, 78 vessels transited the strait, the highest since the war began, although below the prewar averages of 130 or more per day.

At least two tankers reversed course while attempting to transit the strait on the U.N.-backed route near Oman after Iran insisted vessels use only the Teheran-approved routes, according to marine data and analytic firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence.

More than two dozen ships were still transiting the strait’s southern route after the attack, Lloyd’s said Friday.

Lebanon and Israel make a step toward peace

Ambassadors from Israel and Lebanon announced an agreement Friday described as a step toward peace following months of conflict between Israeli troops and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Nada Hamadeh, Lebanon’s ambassador to the U.S., called the framework a move toward “enabling our people to go back to their land and allowing all Lebanese to live in peace, security, and prosperity.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the plan was a “great achievement” for Israel.

“The most important thing, first and foremost, is that Israel will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon,” he said, adding that they will stay until Hezbollah is disarmed and no longer poses a threat to Israel.

Missile warning startles Dubai

A missile warning in the United Arab Emirates caused by a technical glitch Friday underscored the ongoing tensions in the region and startled many across the city-state of Dubai.

A short time after the alert, the Emiratis said there was a telephone call between Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. It quoted Sheikh Abdullah as telling Araghchi that the UAE “emphasized the importance of full commitment” to the interim deal between Iran and the U.S.

“Serious diplomacy and responsible dialogue are the optimal path for addressing all regional and international crises,” it said.

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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Ben Finley in Washington, David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany, and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed to this report.

Collin Binkley And Jon Gambrell, The Associated Press