Representatives of the United States and Iran are expected to meet in Qatar on Tuesday (30 June) in an attempt to salvage the Memorandum of Understanding that they signed a few days ago, but that has been inreasingly under threat as both sides reverted to military action against each other.
Once more the main contention is the Strait of Hormuz. Iran insists that they control it, and any traffic through the straits have to be with their approval. The US insists that the Straits need to be open, unimpeded.
Speaking in Baghdad on Sunday (28 June), Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says responsability for the Strait of Hormuz lies solely with Tehran and warned that any attempt to bypass its preferred route in the waterwawill cause “tension and escalation”.
The UN's International Maritime Organization (IMO) has paused the planned evacuation of more than 11,000 sailors stranded in the Strait of Hormuz after a cargo ship passing through the waterway was attacked.
IMO chief Arsenio Dominguez said several boats had already been evacuated, but the agency wanted to ensure that "necessary safety guarantees" would continue to be in place.
The British maritime security agency UKMTO reported on Thursday that a ship had been struck 7.5 nautical miles southeast of Oman's port of Dahit by "an unknown projectile". No casualties were reported.
The ship's owner said limited damage had been caused and that it had since safely transited the strait.
US officials said Iran had fired on the ship, according to US media reports.
The attack came after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had warned that attempts to cross the strait along a route designated by the IMO would be "unacceptable and completely dangerous" and vessels should coordinate with Iran.
The Ever Lovely, a Singapore-flagged ship, had been following the UKMTO's recommended route through the strait when it was struck, the ship's owner, Evergreen, said.
"All crew members remain safe as does the vessel itself and all cargo," it added..
source: commonspace.eu with Al Jazeera (Doha), BBC (London) and agencies
