The tit-for-tat exchanges threaten to reverse the surge in traffic crossing the Strait that has followed the signing of an interim peace deal earlier this month.<\/p>\n
United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), Britain\u2019s maritime security agency, said a tanker was hit on Saturday but did not say who fired the projectile.<\/p>\n
Iranian state television reported that the Revolutionary Guards had fired \u201cwarning shots\u201d at ships crossing the waterway on channels not approved by the regime.<\/p>\n
![\"2706](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1ee16aa787c1f2270ec9574faac7bf23.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
2706 Hormuz territorial waters<\/p>\n
The US has encouraged tankers to sail close to Oman, but Tehran is ordering vessels to pass closer to its coast, where they can be made to pay fees.<\/p>\n
The Islamic Republic is seeking to formalise its control of the 13-mile channel<\/a> through which around a fifth of global oil supplies passed before the war began.<\/p>\n Drone and missile fire effectively prevented tankers exiting the Gulf during the three-and-a-half-month conflict.<\/p>\n A cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, where the reopening of the waterway has been hit by delays and Iran has fired on ships – Elke Scholiers\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Under the terms of the interim peace deal, Iran has 60 days to allow the resumption of toll-free traffic through the strait.<\/p>\n The agreement\u2019s language is hazy on whether Tehran will be allowed to charge fees after the end of that period, with analysts speculating that negotiations could swing that way.<\/p>\n The Trump administration has offered as much as $300bn (\u00a3220bn) of funding if the Islamic Republic drops its nuclear ambitions and becomes a peaceable member of the international community.<\/p>\n But the Iranian attacks have pushed Washington to respond militarily once more. On Friday night, the US military hit missile, drone and radar sites along the coast.<\/p>\n Credit: U.S. Central Command<\/p>\n Donald Trump, the US president, said the Islamic Republic had \u201cfoolishly\u201d violated the ceasefire by targeting a tanker.<\/p>\n JD Vance<\/a>, the vice-president, wrote on X that Tehran should \u201cpick up the phone\u201d if they have \u201cdisagreements about how the MOU [Memorandum of Understanding] is being applied\u201d.<\/p>\n Otherwise \u201cviolence will be met with violence,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n Bahrain said it had been hit by Iranian drones on Saturday, in what it described as a violation of the Memorandum of Understanding.<\/p>\n 2606 More oil is getting out of the Gulf<\/p>\n Oil prices have tumbled back to pre-war levels since the lifting of Iran\u2019s blockade of the Strait.<\/p>\n The number of tankers crossing the Strait had risen sharply before the resumption of fighting.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, 73 vessels made the journey, according to Kpler, a maritime analysis firm. Some 54 followed on Thursday.<\/p>\n But tanker operators may choose to keep their vessels away from the choke-point while the conditions for passage remain unclear and potentially dangerous.<\/p>\n Iran and the US have often engaged in bursts of fighting at the weekend<\/a>, with hostilities typically resolved in time for the opening of the markets on Monday.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a561b7b2d191da1016855ebe1c25a70b.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"2606](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/97ff967376c9711029146699d54b2f45.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n