The Strait of Hormuz remained at the centre of regional tensions on Saturday after the United Arab Emirates accused Iran of targeting an ADNOC tanker with a missile while it was transiting the strategic waterway.
The UAE Foreign Ministry condemned what it described as a hostile Iranian attack and said the incident caused no casualties. The tanker belonged to Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), the state-owned energy company.
ADNOC said on Friday that 15 of its vessels had been attacked in the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of the war. The company said three of those vessels were targeted during the current week, adding to concerns over shipping security.
Iran has maintained an effective blockade of the waterway while demanding compensation from the United States before agreeing to reopen the route. Tehran has also sought arrangements concerning passage through the strategically important strait.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Saturday that negotiations with Oman over the future arrangements of the waterway were approaching their final stages. However, he stressed that the progress did not mean the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Araghchi said reopening the strait would depend on additional conditions, including compensation related to what Iran considers a violation of a June memorandum of understanding with the United States. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards also said reopening the waterway would follow a separate mechanism.
The Strait of Hormuz is strategically vital to global energy markets, as it previously carried around one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas before the conflict began. The latest tanker attack and ongoing negotiations have therefore heightened uncertainty over regional shipping and energy supplies.
