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Tanker set ablaze after being struck by projectile in the Strait of Hormuz
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Iranian state television said the liquefied natural gas tanker came under attack after ignoring warnings but did not directly claim the assault.
is eager to press ahead with negotiations with Iran aimed at fully reopening the strait, rolling back Tehran's disputed nuclear program and reaching a permanent end to the war launched Feb. 28.
President Donald Trump.
Iran's joint military command warned last Thursday that all oil tankers moving through the strait must use its approved routes. It also said that interference by U.S. "We can knock down their bridges in one hour. We can knock out their energy supply."
Iran and the United States agreed as part of an interim deal to allow ships to pass without paying charges for 60 days.
The U.S.
The data firm Kpler reported that over last weekend at least 108 ships crossed through the strait using various routes.
Images of Khamenei and his son, Iran's new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, were displayed on banners and posters held by mourners. Mojtaba Khamenei has yet to make an appearance in the funeral ceremonies, which are unfolding over several days. He is believed to be in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the airstrike that killed his father.
At the height of the war, before an April ceasefire, Israel targeted top Iranian leaders, in at least one case likely using their public appearances to fix their position. It has also threatened to kill the younger Khamenei.
Authorities have shut down streets, airspace and daily life for the mourning, which began Saturday and will end Thursday as Khamenei is buried at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, his birthplace. Khamenei was 86.
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− Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Tanker set ablaze in the Strait of Hormuz Iranian state television said the tanker came under attack after ignoring warnings but did not directly claim the assault.
+ Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics 2 ships hit in Strait of Hormuz Iran, which has repeatedly declared that only its approved route through the Strait of Hormuz is safe, said one of the vessels came under attack after ignoring warnings.
− World Tanker set ablaze after being struck by projectile in the Strait of Hormuz July 7, 20261:28 AM ET By
The Associated Press
Mourners attend the funeral procession of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 6, 2026.
+ Special Series Middle East conflict Conflict in the Middle East has been escalating.
− Vahid Salemi/AP hide caption
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A tanker traveling off the coast of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz caught on fire early Tuesday morning after being struck by a projectile, the British military said.
+ These stories provide context for current developments and the history that led up to them.
− Middle East conflict Huge crowds of mourners join a funeral procession for Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei The attack was the latest targeting a vessel moving through the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, through which a fifth of all oil and natural gas traded once passed in peacetime.
+ By
The Associated Press
A container ship and a cargo vessel are seen in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, on June 17.
+ Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP hide caption
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Two ships were struck by projectiles Tuesday in the Strait of Hormuz, the British military said, in the latest attacks targeting vessels moving through the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.
Middle East conflict Huge crowds of mourners join a funeral procession for Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei One of the ships was a tanker traveling off the coast of Oman that caught fire, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center.
− Tehran has repeatedly declared that only its approved route through the strait is safe and is suspected of attacking other ships that have used another route close to the Omani shore.
+ The second ship was believed to have sustained structural damage, but no one was injured, the maritime agency said.
− The U.S.
+ 🎧 Listen to NPR's State of the World podcast, a human perspective on global stories in just a few minutes, every weekday.
Tehran, which has repeatedly declared that only its approved route through the strait is safe, is suspected of attacking other ships that have used another route close to the Omani shore.
Middle East conflict Trump says the U.S.
+ and Iran will meet in Qatar after weekend attacks The U.S.
− But previous attacks in the strait have sparked retaliatory strikes by the U.S., which then saw Iran attack Gulf Arab states — raising the risk of an escalation.
+ Previous attacks in the strait have sparked retaliatory strikes by the U.S. Iran then attacked Gulf Arab states.
− Talks between Iran and the U.S., meanwhile, appear to be on hold until after the burial of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the beginning of the war.
+ In peacetime, a fifth of all traded oil and natural gas passed through the channel.
Meanwhile, talks between Iran and the U.S.
− Signs have been increasing that mourners at his funeral were calling for the death of U.S.
+ appeared to be on hold until after the burial of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the beginning of the war.
+ Mourners at his funeral have called for the death of U.S.
− Authorities flew Khamenei's body to the Shiite seminary city of Qom overnight, where mourners honored him Tuesday.
+ Mourners attend the funeral procession of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran, Monday. Vahid Salemi/AP hide caption
Authorities flew Khamenei's body to the Shiite seminary city of Qom, where mourners honored him Tuesday.
− The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said the tanker had been hit near Limah, Oman, in the strait.
+ The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said the tanker was hit near Limah, Oman, in the strait.
− The UKMTO said the projectile hit the port side of the vessel while trying to traveling south out of the strait toward the Gulf of Oman.
+ The UKMTO said the projectile hit the port side of the vessel as it tried to travel south out of the strait toward the Gulf of Oman.
− Middle East conflict Trump says the U.S.
+ The agency said there were no environmental effects from the strike and that authorities were investigating.
Iranian state TV, quoting anonymous sources, implied that Tehran carried out the assault on a tanker it said was carrying natural gas from Qatar.
− and Iran will meet in Qatar after weekend attacks It said there was no environmental impact from the strike and that authorities were investigating.
+ However, there was no official claim from the Islamic Republic for the attack.
− Iranian state TV, quoting anonymous sources, implied Tehran carried out the assault on a tanker it said was carrying natural gas from Qatar.
+ Majed Al-Ansari, a spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, said targeting the Qatari tanker, Al Rekayyat, in the strait was an "unacceptable attack" on international navigation and global energy security.
− However, there's been no official claim from the Islamic Republic for the attack.
+ He called it a "serious and explicit violation" of international law.
+ In a post on X, he said Qatar holds Iran "fully legally responsible" for the attack.
− forces in the strait "will be met with a rapid and decisive reaction."
Trump on Monday at the White House warned Iran that they'd "make a deal or we're going to finish the job."
"I'd rather make a deal, because I don't want to affect 91 million people," Trump said.
+ forces in the strait "will be met with a rapid and decisive reaction."
But the Joint Maritime Information Center, a multinational body overseen by the U.S.
+ Navy, told shippers Monday that the route around Oman "has been expanded and remains available for all traffic."
Speaking Monday at the White House, Trump warned Iran that it would need to "make a deal, or we're going to finish the job."
"I'd rather make a deal, because I don't want to affect 91 million people," Trump said.
− But Tehran insisted it must control the routes of the vessels and later charge fees for passage, upending decades of practice in the waterway.
+ But Tehran insisted it must control the routes of the vessels and later charge fees for passage, which would upend decades of practice in the waterway.
− and many Gulf Arab states say they won't agree to Iran charging for passage through the strait.
+ and many Gulf Arab states say they will not agree to Iran charging for passage through the strait.
− An effort by Oman and a United Nations agency to launch a new route near Oman's shore earlier sparked attacks across the Mideast, highlighting the tensions.
+ An effort by Oman and a United Nations agency to launch a new route near Oman's shore earlier sparked attacks across the Mideast.
− Iranian state television early Tuesday aired live images from a helicopter of hundreds of thousands of people walking toward Jamkaran Mosque, just south of Qom, for a funeral service for Khamenei.
+ A truck carrying the coffins of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his family makes its way through mourners during the funeral procession in Qom, the heart of religious studies in Iran, Tuesday.
− The mosque is believed by Shiites to have once hosted the Muhammad al-Mahdi, the 12th and last Shiite imam, who disappeared in the 9th century and will one day reappear to bring justice to the world.
+ Mehdi Khezrian/ISNA via AP hide caption
Iranian state television early Tuesday aired live images from a helicopter of hundreds of thousands of people walking toward Jamkaran Mosque, just south of Qom, for a funeral service for Khamenei. Shiites believe the mosque once hosted the Muhammad al-Mahdi, the 12th and last Shiite imam, who disappeared in the 9th century and will one day reappear to bring justice to the world.