The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre reported a second incident in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday morning involving an unnamed cargo vessel about 8 nautical miles off the Iranian coast. A crewmember reported being “fired upon” and the vessel stopped; UKMTO said there were no casualties or reported damage.
Separately, UKMTO reported an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps gunboat attacked a container ship in the eastern Strait of Hormuz, about 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman. The vessel was approached and fired upon without warning; the IRGC fire “caused heavy damage to the bridge,” but there were no casualties or environmental impacts, UKMTO said.
President Donald Trump posted on social media that Iran is “collapsing financially” and “starving for cash,” reiterating his claim that Iran seeks the Strait of Hormuz reopened. Trump said unnamed sources told him Iran asked to reopen the Strait “four days ago,” but he has kept the U.S. blockade in place as leverage for a deal. He warned that lifting pressure would prevent any future deal unless the U.S. “blow[s] up the rest of their Country,” and he again asserted recent U.S. military actions had devastated Iranian forces and leadership.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Trump for extending a ceasefire to allow diplomatic efforts to continue, urged both sides to observe the ceasefire, and said Pakistan would keep working toward a negotiated settlement.