Fresh flare-up at sea: Iran attacks three ships in Strait of Hormuz

At least three commercial vessels came under gunfire while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, maritime security sources and the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Wednesday.

An IRGC-linked gunboat approached a vessel before shots were fired. There were no injuries, and all crew members were safe, according to reports. No fire or environmental damage was reported.

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The first vessel was contacted by a gunboat linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and fired upon despite reportedly having a transit permit. There was no prior radio communication from the attackers.

A second vessel, a Panama-flagged container ship, was fired upon about eight nautical miles west of Iran. It sustained no damage, and its crew remained safe.

A third vessel, a Liberia-flagged container ship, was also targeted in the same region. It was forced to halt temporarily, though its crew was unharmed.

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The incident comes on the day US President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire with Iran, adding strain to already fragile diplomatic efforts to resume talks. 

Last Tuesday, Trump indefinitely extended the ceasefire with Iran, saying the move was aimed at giving Tehran's fractured leadership time to come up with a unified proposal to end the seven-week war. The announcement came just hours before the two-week ceasefire announced on April 8 was set to expire.

Iran has restricted traffic in the Hormuz Strait, disrupting energy flows and hurting exports of Gulf countries. In response, the US has blocked the Iranian shipments through Hormuz, aiming to hurt Tehran's revenue.  

On Tuesday, the US said its forces boarded an oil tanker previously sanctioned for smuggling Iranian crude in Asia. The Pentagon said that US forces boarded the M/T Tifani without incident. Ship-tracking data showed the vessel was in the Indian Ocean between Sri Lanka and Indonesia on Tuesday.

Slamming the US, Iranian foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said blockading Iranian ports was an "act of war and thus a violation of the ceasefire". "Striking a commercial vessel and taking its crew hostage is an even greater violation. Iran knows how to neutralise restrictions, how to defend its interests, and how to resist bullying," he said in a social media post.