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US restarts enforcement of Iran blockade: Update
US restarts enforcement of Iran blockade: Update
Adds US disabling of oil tanker New York, 15 July (Argus) — The US military has begun disabling and redirecting vessels that violate its renewed blockade of Iranian ports, following the breakdown of a four-week-old ceasefire agreement between the countries. US Central Command (Centcom), which oversees US forces in the Middle East, said it disabled the empty Curacao-flagged oil tanker Belma while it was transiting international waters toward Kharg Island on 15 July. "The commercial vessel ignored multiple warnings as it attempted to violate the US blockade," Centcom said on social media. "A US aircraft disabled the vessel after firing hellfire missiles into the ship's smokestack. The ship is no longer transiting to Iran." In the first 24 hours of enforcing the renewed blockade, Centcom said it also redirected two compliant commercial vessels. Prior to the US and Iran signing of the agreement on 18 June, US forces imposed a naval blockade from the Gulf of Oman and a northern section of the Arabian sea, preventing ships from reaching Iranian ports and turning vessels back toward Iran's coast. The US Navy redirected 140 ships and disabled nine vessels from 13 April to 18 June as part of this initial blockade. But enforcement activity during the first US blockade was uneven. While the blockade did impede Iranian exports, Iranian crude loading activity continued with ballast vessels able to make it through the blockade . US, Iranian actions endanger mariners The US on Tuesday reimposed its blockade on Iranian ports following the breakdown of the shaky truce it reached last month with Iran, including the restart of Iranian attacks on commercial vessels transiting the strait of Hormuz. The US has framed its latest military actions as intended to degrade Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping in the strait of Hormuz while Iran "targets innocent civilians transiting the strait and in neighboring Gulf countries", Centcom said Wednesday on social media. "Iran has intentionally targeted civilians across the region by attacking seven commercial ships resulting in nearly a dozen civilian crew members killed, missing or injured," Centcom said. "US forces are holding Iran accountable for unwarranted aggression that continues to endanger innocent lives." US enforcement of its original blockade on Iranian ports also resulted in mariner casualties. In June, the US attacked the tanker Settebello , which resulted in the deaths of three Indian crew members, an action condemned by the International Maritime Organization and the Indian Ministry of Foreign affairs . The US has continued to encourage vessels to transit the strait via the southern route along Oman's coastline, a path that Iran has been targeting, increasing risks to mariners. "US-assisted commercial transits continued despite the elevated threat environment," the UK Trade Maritime Information Center wrote in a 14 July advisory note. Iran views transits on non-Iranian controlled routes as violations of the 18 June agreement and as a challenge to its control over the waterway. By Charlotte Bawol Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US restarts enforcement of Iran blockade
US restarts enforcement of Iran blockade
New York, 15 July (Argus) — The US military has begun redirecting vessels that violate its renewed blockade of Iranian ports following the breakdown of a four-week-old ceasefire agreement between the countries. "Since restarting the naval blockade against Iranian ports 17 hours ago, US forces have redirected two commercial vessels attempting to run the blockade," the US Central Command (Centcom), which oversees US forces in the Middle East, said on social media at 9:20am ET (13:20 GMT) Wednesday. "The US military remains vigilant and prepared to ensure full compliance." Prior to the US and Iran signing of the agreement on 18 June, Centcom forces imposed a naval blockade from the Gulf of Oman and a northern section of the Arabian sea, preventing ships from reaching Iranian ports and turning vessels back toward Iran's coast. The US Navy redirected 140 ships and disabled nine vessels from 13 April to 18 June as part of this initial blockade. But enforcement activity during the first US blockade was uneven. While the blockade did impede Iranian exports, Iranian crude loading activity continued with ballast vessels able to make it through the blockade . US, Iranian actions endanger mariners The US reimposed its blockade on Iranian ports following the breakdown of the shaky truce it reached last month with Iran and the restart of Iranian attacks on commercial vessels transiting the strait of Hormuz. The US has framed its latest military actions as intended to degrade Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping in the strait of Hormuz while Iran "targets innocent civilians transiting the strait and in neighboring Gulf countries", Centcom said Wednesday on social media. "Iran has intentionally targeted civilians across the region by attacking seven commercial ships resulting in nearly a dozen civilian crew members killed, missing or injured," Centcom said. "US forces are holding Iran accountable for unwarranted aggression that continues to endanger innocent lives." Yet, US enforcement of its original blockade on Iranian ports also resulted in mariner casualties. In June, the US attacked the tanker Settebello , which resulted in the deaths of three Indian crew members, an action condemned by the International Maritime Organization and the Indian Ministry of Foreign affairs . The US has continued to encourage vessels to transit the strait via the southern route along Oman's coastline, a path that Iran has been targeting, increasing risks to mariners. "US-assisted commercial transits continued despite the elevated threat environment," the UK Trade Maritime Information Center wrote in a 14 July advisory note. Iran views transits on non-Iranian controlled routes as violations of the 18 June agreement and as a challenge to its control over the waterway. By Charlotte Bawol Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Iraqi leader invites US oil investment
Iraqi leader invites US oil investment
Washington, 14 July (Argus) — Iraq is hoping to scale up investment by US companies, Iraqi prime minister Ali al-Zaidi told President Donald Trump during a meeting at the White House on Tuesday. Trump said he expected major deals to be announced shortly, without providing details. "We have tremendous oil partnerships all of a sudden being formed over the short period of time," Trump said, attributing the spike of interest in Iraq to his decision to attack Iran. Al-Zaidi, who took office in May, inherited an economic crisis caused by the effective closure of the strait of Hormuz in March-June. US-Iranian clashes, which escalated on 7 July, have again constricted energy flows through Hormuz after a brief resurgence of flows in mid-June following an interim US-Iran deal. The US resumed a naval blockade of Iran at 4pm ET (20:00 GMT) on Tuesday. Vessel traffic through the strait of Hormuz remained at minimal levels over the past day, according to MarineTraffic. Al-Zaidi's government has so far managed to balance relations with Washington and Tehran during the US-Iran war. Al-Zaidi's government represents Iraq's Shiite Co-ordination Framework, which is aligned with Tehran. But Trump heaped praise on al-Zaidi — "The prime minister of Iraq has been amazing" — and took credit for his nomination. Al-Zaidi emerged as a compromise candidate after the US had rejected the bloc's earlier nomination of former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, seen by Washington as too aligned with Tehran. Iraq in recent weeks accelerated efforts to boost crude production and diversify export routes after approving a series of agreements with Chevron, US oil services firm Halliburton and other international partners, while moving to extend the operation of its northern export pipeline to Turkey for another year. Argus estimates Iraqi crude output was 2.15mn b/d as of June, well below its Opec+ target of 4.35mn b/d, because of constraints on seaborne exports. Baghdad is welcoming new US oil investment and, at the same time, preparing for the scheduled departure of the remaining US troops from Iraq on 30 September, al-Zaidi said. "US forces will be out of Iraq while these companies will be inside Iraq," he said. The US and Iraq agreed on the 30 September deadline for the departure of US forces in 2024, under former US president Joe Biden. The remaining US forces are positioned in bases in northern Iraq's Kurdistan region, where they came under repeated missile and drone attacks from Iran in March-April. "We don't think we need the military there any more," Trump said. "What we do have is the oil companies are all going in now and they're doing partnerships with Iraq, and they're getting along very well." In Trump's telling, renewed interest from US companies in Iraq testified to the success of his military campaign against Tehran. "Iran has been very much destabilized and their military power is just a tiny fraction of what it was just four months ago," Trump said. "I think that's one of the reasons that our oil companies are going in there at levels that have never been seen before." Trump prodded al-Zaidi to confirm that the 2020 killing of senior Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in a US strike in Baghdad has reduced Iran's influence in Iraq. "At that time, I was not in politics," said Al-Zaidi, who had been a businessman with interests spanning banking, trade and food supply networks before his appointment. "During my visit, I'd like to talk about the future, we are fed up with the past," he told Trump. By Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Iran says 200 ships sought Hormuz permits since June
Iran says 200 ships sought Hormuz permits since June
Dubai, 14 July (Argus) — More than 200 non-Iranian vessels co-ordinated with Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) to transit the strait of Hormuz in the three weeks after Tehran and Washington signed their memorandum of understanding (MoU) last month, the authority said on Tuesday. The PGSA was formed as part of Tehran's push to tighten control over shipping in and around the critical strait of Hormuz after the start of the US-Israel war with Iran in late February. Tehran has required vessels seeking to transit the strait to apply in advance for a permit from the PGSA. In many cases, this also involved paying a fee to the authority. This fee was waived for 60 days as part of the MoU signed on 18 June, which was intended to lay the groundwork for reopening the strait to commercial shipping, ending the fighting and starting talks towards a final peace deal. But tensions over control and administration of the strait resurfaced last week as Iran and the US began exchanging fire. Iran declared the strait closed again over the weekend of 11-12 July, and US president Donald Trump announced on Monday that Washington would reimpose a naval blockade on Iran. "Prior to the recent provocations by US forces in the region that led to the closure of the strait, more than 200 non-Iranian vessels co-ordinated with the PGSA during the three weeks following the signing of the memorandum of understanding," the authority said. A breakdown published by the PGSA showed that 41pc of vessels applying for permits were "oil tankers". Bulk carriers accounted for 27pc, container ships 18pc and LNG carriers 2pc. The PGSA said 53pc of vessels submitting requests were travelling eastbound through the strait to exit the Mideast Gulf, while the remaining 47pc were westbound and entering the Gulf. Of the eastbound vessels, 21pc were destined for China, 20pc for India and 29pc for elsewhere in Asia-Pacific. Another 22pc were travelling to destinations in the wider Middle East region, including ports in Oman, Saudi Red Sea ports and the UAE port of Fujairah. Of the westbound vessels, 21pc originated in India, 19pc in China and 20pc from other Asian countries. The PGSA said 24pc of vessels entering the Mideast Gulf through the strait originated from ports "within the region". The PGSA said 79pc of vessels that co-ordinated with it before transiting the strait also took out insurance cover from the authority. It said 14pc of vessels that had applied were still awaiting permits. It has taken the PGSA an average of 50 hours to issue permits, the authority said. Rival routes Ship transits through the strait of Hormuz have collapsed since the weekend to levels not seen since the early days of the war. At the heart of the latest flare-up is a dispute between Tehran and Washington over the management of the strait. The broadly worded MoU signed last month called for Iran to "make arrangements… for the safe passage of commercial vessels". Tehran interpreted that clause as giving it total control over which vessels can use the waterway and which route they should take. The US has rejected that interpretation. Iran has prescribed a northern route through the strait along the Iranian coastline, arguing that other routes remain unsafe because naval mines have yet to be cleared. But the US has promoted a southern route through the strait along the Omani coastline. Washington has said 380mn bl of crude exited the Mideast Gulf, and more than 800 ships passed through the strait via this route, between 18 June and 10 July — roughly the same period covered by the PGSA data. By Nader Itayim Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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