DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) 鈥� A ship anchored off the United Arab Emirates was seized and taken toward Iran and another 鈥� a cargo ship near Oman 鈥� sank after being attacked, authorities said Thursday, as tensions escalated near the .
It wasn’t immediately clear who was behind these incidents, but they happened as a senior Iranian official reiterated his country鈥檚 claim of control over the waterway and another said it had a right to seize oil tankers connected to the U.S.
The turmoil in the strait, which a fifth of the world鈥檚 oil passed through before the war, has been a sticking point for weeks in talks between the U.S. and Iran to end the conflict. Iran’s grip on the vital waterway has and far beyond the Middle East.
The ongoing instability in the region comes as U.S. President Donald Trump met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping . The White House said both sides had agreed that the must remain open.
Just last week, t when U.S. forces fired on and disabled Iranian oil tankers that it said were trying to breach its blockade of Iran鈥檚 ports.
Seizures and attacks in Hormuz ongoing
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said it received reports that the ship seized Thursday was taken by unauthorized personnel while anchored 38 nautical miles (70 kilometers, 44 miles) northeast of the UAE port of Fujairah, an important oil export terminal that has been repeatedly attacked during the war with Iran.
The U.K. maritime center did not name the ship seized Thursday and said it is investigating. The British military said the vessel is heading toward Iranian waters.
Indian authorities said Thursday that an Indian-flagged cargo ship sank off the coast of Oman after an attack sparked a fire aboard the vessel while it was en route from Somalia to Sharjah, another UAE port. They did not say who attacked the ship.
The attack on the Indian-flagged cargo ship Haji Ali occurred Wednesday, according to Mukesh Mangal, a senior official in India鈥檚 shipping ministry. He said all 14 Indian crew members were rescued by Oman鈥檚 coast guard and were safe.
India鈥檚 foreign ministry called the incident 鈥渦nacceptable鈥� and condemned continued attacks on commercial shipping and civilian mariners. The ministry did not identify who carried out the attack.
Seizures come at tense diplomatic moment
Iranian semiofficial news agencies reported that Chinese ships began passing through the strait Wednesday night under new Iranian protocols. According to the reports, Tehran agreed to facilitate the passage of several Chinese vessels after requests from China鈥檚 foreign minister and Beijing鈥檚 ambassador to Iran. The ships began their passage as Trump arrived in China.
The seizure of a ship off the coast of the UAE happened hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he had quietly visited the country during the with Iran, though the UAE swiftly denied it.
The Gulf nation in 2020. Iran has criticized that agreement and has repeatedly suggested over the years that Israel maintained a military and intelligence presence in the UAE.
Netanyahu鈥檚 decision to go public with the sensitive meeting was likely an effort to drum up support for his flagging party ahead of Israeli elections, said Yoel Guzansky, a senior researcher at the Institute of National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.
鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing, it鈥檚 the deepest cooperation we鈥檝e ever had 鈥� that during a war, Israel is defending an Arab state against Iran. It shows how complicated the Middle East is,鈥� he said.
The UAE is trying to highlight its cooperation with Israel but not with Netanyahu and his government, Guzansky said, because many in the UAE are against Israel鈥檚 policies in Gaza.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e trying to differentiate between security cooperation and cooperating with this government,鈥� said Guzansky, who previously worked for the national security council within the Israeli prime minister’s office.
Iran sets demands for new talks
Iran said it will not enter more talks with the United States unless five conditions are met, including paying reparations for the war and accepting Iran鈥檚 sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, Iran鈥檚 semiofficial Fars news agency reported, citing an informed source.
The White House is again unlikely to accept those demands, which would essentially formalize Iran’s control over a waterway that was open to international traffic before the war.
Iran鈥檚 senior vice president, Mohammadreza Aref, said Thursday that the strait belongs to Iran and that Tehran would not give it up 鈥渁t any price,鈥� state TV reported. 鈥淚t has always been our property,鈥� Aref said.
Iran defends right to seize ships
Iran鈥檚 judiciary spokesperson told the state-owned Iran Daily newspaper on Thursday that Iran has the legal and judicial right to seize oil tankers in the strait that are connected to the U.S. because the U.S. has violated international maritime laws and committed piracy. The spokesperson, Asghar Jahangir, did not explicitly refer to the tanker seized on Thursday.
Iran seized a number of ships, including a tanker identified as the Ocean Koi, last week, saying it was attempting to disrupt oil exports and Iranian interests, according to the official IRNA news agency. It said the tanker was seized in the Gulf of Oman and carrying Iranian oil when it was taken to Iran鈥檚 southern coast.
The U.S. sanctioned the Ocean Koi in February as part of a 鈥渟hadow fleet鈥� transporting Iranian oil.
Top US military leader says Iran’s threats impact shipping
The top U.S. commander in the Middle East said Thursday he believes Iran鈥檚 military capabilities have been 鈥渄ramatically degraded,鈥� but its leaders are impacting shipping in the strait with rhetoric alone.
鈥淭heir voice is very loud, and the threats are clearly heard by the merchant industry and the insurance industry,鈥� Adm. Brad Cooper told lawmakers in Congress.
He said the U.S. has the military power to permanently reopen the strait and escort ships. But he deferred to policymakers about the best path forward amid a 鈥渢ime of sensitive negotiations.鈥�
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Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Natalie Melzer in Nahariya, Israel, Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi and Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed to this report.
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