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Hormuz fight widens
Egypt called for an immediate halt to military operations and all forms of escalation as attacks on shipping and military sites intensified across the Gulf, with Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty discussing containment efforts in telephone calls with Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al-Busaidi and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
“Egypt on Saturday called for an immediate halt to military operations and all forms of escalation”
The US Central Command said it announced a new wave of strikes against Iran aimed at degrading military capabilities used to target commercial shipping and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz, while US President Donald Trump said Iran remained in contact with Washington and was seeking an agreement.
At sea, the US military said it disabled a merchant tanker in the Gulf of Oman after the vessel repeatedly attempted to breach a blockade imposed on Iranian ports, and CENTCOM also said a US destroyer disabled another vessel and redirected six commercial ships during enforcement operations.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Navy said it had stopped four vessels within 24 hours after they attempted to use what Tehran described as an unsafe southern route through the Strait of Hormuz, and an Iranian military spokesman warned that countries accused of assisting US military operations could face difficulties transiting the strategic waterway.
Araghchi said Tehran would not accept a temporary ceasefire unless its demands regarding the Strait of Hormuz were addressed, and he said a memorandum of understanding with Washington required Iran to arrange the reopening of the strait within one month and provide free navigation services for 60 days before discussing a longer-term management mechanism with Oman.
Trump, Araghchi trade threats
As the US-Iran confrontation shifted into a broader campaign of pressure, CCTV English described nearly two weeks of US strikes and escalating threats against Iranian infrastructure that transformed the exchanges into “a broader campaign of pressure,” raising the prospect of prolonged conflict.
US President Donald Trump warned of “major military punishment” against both Iran and the Houthis after Houthi fighters attacked Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, and the BBC reported that Trump gave instructions to the US military not to launch new attacks on Iran on Friday after about two weeks of daily attacks.
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi insisted the problem with advancing peace talks was “the American approach,” and he said, “Preserving Iran’s interests in the strait of Hormuz is among our principles and we are committed to them.”
In parallel, the BBC said Trump told reporters at the White House, “We are talking with them. I think they are serious,” while also adding that “doesn’t mean we will reach an agreement.”
The Guardian reported that the US struck targets across Iran reaching as far as the Caspian Sea, while Trump threatened “major military punishment” for Tehran and its Houthi allies in Yemen for extending the war to a second shipping chokepoint at the entrance to the Red Sea.
Navigation coalition and stakes
With the Strait of Hormuz remaining a central point of contention, Al Jazeera reported that Iran blamed the US for the Hormuz dispute, saying the US was trying to force open a new route through the strait bypassing Iranian authorities and violating the two countries’ interim peace deal.
“Iran has accused the United States of trying to force open a new route”
Al Jazeera also said Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi argued that the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding signed in June gives Tehran the right to set transit routes and mechanisms, and he said Washington should have consulted Tehran regarding any new routes.
Meanwhile, Axios reporting carried by Al Jazeera said the United States and Britain began taking steps to explore an international mechanism to ensure the security of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, with a high-level meeting in the British capital next week to discuss forming a possible international coalition.
The Al Jazeera report said expected participation could include US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Cain, and it described the coalition’s tasks as escorting commercial ships and oil carriers, clearing naval mines, and securing sea lanes to prevent attacks or clashes.
In the background of these diplomatic and military moves, the Guardian reported that shipping disruption from the war had pushed oil prices up 7% to more than $100 per barrel after the Houthis struck two Saudi tankers in the Bab el-Mandeb strait, and it said the number of tankers crossing through the strait of Hormuz fell to just one on Thursday, the lowest figure since 7 May.
