DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran fired on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz and seized two of them on Wednesday, intensifying its assault on shipping in the key waterway a day after U.S. President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire while maintaining an American blockade of Iranian ports.
Iranian media said the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was bringing the two ships to Iran after seizing them in the strait, through which 20% of the world's oil passes in peacetime. The standoff over Iran's closure of the strait and the U.S. blockade raised doubts about when or if talks would resume to end the crisis.
The conflict has already sent gas prices skyrocketing far beyond the region and raised the cost of food and a wide array of other products. The longer the strait remains closed, the more severe and widespread the effects will be — and the longer it will take the economy to bounce back.
The European Union energy commissioner, Dan Jørgensen, warned of lasting impact for consumers and business, likening the crisis to other major energy crunches over the last half-century. He said the war is costing Europe around 500 million euros ($600 million) each day.
In a separate development, French President Emmanuel Macron said a French peacekeeper wounded in an attack in Lebanon over the weekend had died of his wounds. Another French peacekeeper was killed in the attack on Saturday, in which the force came under small arms fire in southern Lebanon. Macron blamed the attack on Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. Hezbollah has denied involvement.
Iran holds firm in apparent tit-for-tat with US
Iran’s leaders appear poised to drive a hard bargain with American negotiators after Trump said the U.S. would indefinitely extend the ceasefire that had been due to expire Wednesday, while Washington awaits a new proposal from Tehran.
Iranian media said the MSC Francesca and the Epaminodes were being escorted to Iran. The ships’ owners could not be immediately reached for comment. The U.S. had earlier seized two Iranian vessels as the ceasefire talks were due to take place in Pakistan.
The Guard attacked a third ship, identified as the Euphoria, which had become “stranded” on the Iranian coast, Iranian media reported, without elaborating.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center also reported the attacks, saying a Revolutionary Guard gunboat opened fire on a container ship and “caused heavy damage to the bridge.” A second cargo ship came under fire hours later, with no report of damage, though the vessel was then stopped in the water. No injuries to the crew of either vessel were reported.
Source: WPLG
