Three ships in the Strait of Hormuz were hit by unknown projectiles on Tuesday, Britain’s UKMTO maritime security body reported. Iran also confirmed it had received a U.S. response to its latest proposal to end the war, but Tehran didn’t disclose what the response said or whether Washington rejected it.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi presented the U.S. response to President Masoud Pezeshkian at a Cabinet meeting, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani told state-run IRNA. The exchange comes as disruption continues along a strategic shipping lane that carried around a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas before the war.
Hormuz Security and Negotiations
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said a crude oil tanker and two other vessels had each “been struck by an unknown projectile.” UKMTO initially described one vessel as an LNG tanker, then later called it a tanker. Its report didn’t identify who launched the projectiles.
Since the conflict began, Iran has blocked commercial ships and fired on vessels it accused of unauthorized crossings. Washington imposed a counterblockade of Iranian ports to stop Tehran from exporting oil. Shipping through the strait has risen in recent weeks, but shippers have charged high fees to cover the risk of attacks, and flows of crude oil, refined products and natural gas remain substantially disrupted.
An official briefed on the talks, who wasn’t Iranian and spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said Qataris briefed Araghchi on the U.S. response Tuesday in Doha. The official said the sides largely agreed on the steps needed, but disagreed about the order in which to take them.
Araghchi said he had proposed reopening the strait in a week if the United States lifted its blockade of Iranian ports, released frozen Iranian assets and waived sanctions on Iranian oil sales, among other conditions. Trump rejected the offer, saying Iran wanted a deal because it was “losing so badly” and that the proposal “would not be acceptable.” Mediators kept working to broker an agreement to end the fighting and reopen the strait.
Iran’s Military Supply Chain
The Trump administration said it would maintain economic pressure on Tehran as prospects for an agreement remained uncertain. On Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against 10 individuals and entities based in Iran, Hong Kong and Pakistan. It accused them of procuring weapons and weapon components for Iran’s Defense Ministry as it fought the war.
The sanctions formed part of “Operation Economic Outcast,” which the administration said aimed to sever “critical financial lifelines” for the Iranian government. Iran’s economy was already under heavy strain before the conflict and plunged into free fall after fighting began in late February. On Tuesday, traders in Tehran exchanged more than 2.5 million rials for one U.S. dollar, a record low.
Israel’s Security Concerns
Former national security council head Meir Ben-Shabbat warned in an interview with Maariv that pressure on Iran could lead Tehran to consider a direct attack on Israel. He also said a future U.S.-Iran agreement could give the Iranian regime a strategic lifeline by financing its recovery and preserving dangers from it.
“Israel must always be prepared on the assumption that at a certain point in time, which will not necessarily be possible to predict, Iran will consider attacking it,” Ben-Shabbat said. Asked whether Israelis and Jews abroad should prepare for more attempts to target them amid rising pressure on Iran, he replied: “The system and the citizens must assume so.”
Ben-Shabbat described Iran’s confrontation with European countries as a multidimensional hybrid campaign involving “gray zone” warfare, terrorism through proxies, cyberattacks and economic influence. He said Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles, apparently launched from Lebanon by Hezbollah, had directly struck the British Air Force base at Akrotiri in Cyprus.
He also said Turkey continued to host senior Hamas leaders and was conducting a legal and information campaign accusing Israel of war crimes. Ben-Shabbat characterized Turkey as distinct from Iran: it’s a NATO member, and relations with Israel, despite a deep crisis, remained unsevered. He said Israel had acted correctly by clarifying its red lines in Syria and deepening security ties with Greece and Cyprus.
Pezeshkian said Iran would make every effort to bring an agreement to fruition and “firmly stand up for the rights of the Iranian people.” He added: “The agreement must now be based on a win-win strategy.”