ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) remained defiant on Saturday as attacks on commercial shipping continued in the Strait of Hormuz, insisting that the strategic waterway will not reopen unless Washington accepts Tehran’s conditions.
An Iranian missile struck a vessel affiliated with the United Arab Emirates’ state-owned oil company ADNOC while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, the UAE Foreign Ministry said. No injuries were reported.
In a statement, the ministry said Abu Dhabi “condemned and denounced the hostile Iranian attack,” adding that “targeting commercial shipping and using the Strait of Hormuz as a tool of economic coercion or blackmail represents acts of piracy by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, and constitutes a direct threat to the stability of the region, its peoples, and global energy security.”
A day earlier, ADNOC said that 15 of its vessels had been targeted by missiles and drones while transiting the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the conflict between the US and Iran, including three this week, killing one crew member and wounding 20 others, according to a Reuters report on Saturday.
The US and Israel launched an aerial campaign against Iran on February 28, targeting military and other sites across the country. The conflict subsequently expanded across the region, while Iran severely restricted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy corridors.
The latest attack comes as Iran and Oman continue negotiations aimed at establishing a temporary route for safer commercial shipping through Hormuz. A US official told Reuters on Friday that progress was being made and Washington expected an agreement soon.
But IRGC spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi on Saturday sought to draw a clear distinction between those negotiations and any broader reopening of the strait.
“The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz has no connection whatsoever to the negotiations between Iran and Oman,” Mohebbi said, adding that the issue depended on Washington accepting conditions set by Tehran.
“The manner and timing of the reopening directly depend on the extent to which the United States accepts our conditions,” he added. Iranian state media reported that Mohebbi described Hormuz as no longer merely an economic passage but an “instrument of power and war.”
It remains unclear how the IRGC’s hardline position and continuing attacks on commercial vessels will affect the Iran-Oman negotiations, or how Gulf states whose shipping and energy exports have been disrupted will respond.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said earlier on Saturday that Tehran and Muscat were close to finalising a temporary shipping route, but stressed that such an agreement should not be interpreted as the reopening of Hormuz.
"The reopening of the Strait is contingent upon other conditions and the compensation for the breach of the agreement by the US,” Iranian state media cited him as saying.
Reuters also reported that the two sides appeared close to an agreement.
The IRGC formally declared the Strait of Hormuz closed in July after firing a warning shot that struck a commercial vessel travelling along what Tehran described as an unauthorised route. Iran subsequently disabled a second vessel and warned ships not to transit without its authorisation. Tehran has sought to establish its own system governing passage through the waterway, including designated routes and proposed transit fees, Reuters reported.
The restrictions have dramatically reduced traffic. According to figures reported by Reuters on Wednesday, before the war, roughly 130 to 140 vessels crossed the strait each day. Ship-tracking data from Kpler showed only eight vessels transited on Tuesday - five tankers and three bulk carriers - highlighting the scale of the disruption.
