One person dead, four hurt, a ship damaged near Qeshm Island. That was the toll Iranian state media gave on 13 September 2026 for an attack on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz late the night before. CNN, which carried the claim, said it could not independently settle the details, and the United States had not commented. CNN had asked US Central Command for a response.
The state broadcaster IRIB put the injured at four. The official news agency IRNA quoted the governor of Qeshm blaming a “terrorist enemy.” Qeshm lies about 14 miles from the port city of Bandar Abbas and matters to Tehran’s grip on traffic through the strait.
A second ship hit
The British maritime security service UKMTO reported a separate incident. It said a vessel transiting the strait was hit late Saturday by an unknown projectile, a fire broke out aboard, and local authorities were on the scene helping to evacuate the crew. UKMTO gave no word on the ship’s flag. CNBC reported the same notice. It is unclear whether this is the same vessel Iran described.
On Sunday, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said the MT El Gaia, a Panamanian-flagged ship with 14 Indians among its crew, was attacked off the Omani coast. “Of the 14 Indian crew onboard, 13 Indians have been rescued so far,” spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, adding that the search for the missing sailor was continuing. Iran’s military later said the ship hit a sea mine. Central Command called that false and said an Iranian drone struck it.
A strait under blockade
Both outlets described a waterway in deep trouble. Before the war, about 20 million barrels of oil passed through the strait every day, CNN noted; traffic is now roughly 90% below that. CNBC said shipping remains severely disrupted by repeated attacks and a US naval blockade, which keeps oil prices high. Brent crude settled down 2.8% on Friday at $104.61 a barrel, after climbing above $100 for the first time in months.
Central Command said on Saturday that its forces had redirected 100 commercial vessels over 60 days since resuming the blockade of Iran. “ZERO ships have passed through the blockade without U.S. forces allowing,” it posted on X. The command also said it destroyed 10 Iranian tankers the previous week.
Diplomacy was going nowhere fast. Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, wrote on X: “No negotiations. Until Iran’s terms are met, talks are futile.” President Masoud Pezeshkian told India Today TV the waterway would open only if Washington ended its blockade. Iran and Gulf states had planned to meet in Oman on Monday over a shipping arrangement with Oman, but the meeting was postponed at Saudi Arabia’s request.
Sources
- Vessel struck in Strait of Hormuz, UKMTO says, as talks appear elusive
- Vessel struck in Strait of Hormuz, UKMTO reports | CNN
