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Hormuz traffic nearly stops
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz ground to a near halt after the US struck Iran for a second straight day, leaving a fragile truce looking increasingly shaky, World Oil said citing Bloomberg.
“Are the US and Iran at war again”
World Oil reported that a small number of vessels signaled their transit along the route controlled by Iran on Thursday, while the U.S.-supported Omani corridor was empty of observable traffic, according to ship-tracking data.
The same report said ship clusters formed as a sign of electronic interference in navigation systems, and that the Joint Maritime Information Center said traffic on Tuesday and Wednesday was at "reduced levels" even as U.S.-assisted commercial transits proceeded without interruption.
World Oil also said some 21 commodity carriers crossed the strait in either direction on Wednesday, making it one of the thinnest traffic flows since the interim peace deal in mid-June.
In parallel, Al Jazeera described the war as entering a more opaque phase two days after mutual strikes, with the United States responding with strikes against more than 170 targets inside Iran within 48 hours.
Rhetoric and competing narratives
Al Jazeera said Iran and the United States offered clashing narratives over the fate of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz while they continued to trade threats even as they maintained contact through mediators.
Al Jazeera quoted Iranian state media attributing a statement to Mojtaba Khamenei: "We pledge to avenge your pure blood, and the blood of all the martyrs of these two wars".
In the same Al Jazeera account, President Donald Trump said he believes he is first on the "kill list for Iran" and wrote on Truth Social that "A thousand 'Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran'".
Al Jazeera also quoted Crisis Group’s Iran Project director Ali Vaez saying, "Trump’s declaration that the ceasefire is over raises the costs of talks, but not necessarily their utility."
Separately, Al Jazeera reported that the Iranian authorities insisted they intend to exercise a degree of control over transit through the strait and that they consider movement through a US-backed southern route crossing near Oman to have run counter to the memorandum of understanding.
What comes next for talks
Al Jazeera’s scenario framing said the memorandum of understanding signed on June 17 faced its toughest test since taking effect after ships in the Strait of Hormuz were attacked and the United States responded with strikes against more than 170 targets inside Iran within 48 hours.
Al Jazeera reported that an American official told it Washington remains committed to negotiations and that technical talks toward a permanent agreement would continue, even as the White House said Iran asked to continue talks after Trump declared the ceasefire had ended.
In the same Al Jazeera account, Iran’s foreign ministry denied requesting new negotiations and said it had only accepted a visit by a Qatari delegation to try to overcome the impasse.
Al Jazeera also quoted Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf saying, "At any moment the Americans breach the understanding, we are ready for comprehensive defense, and we will stand up to them and defend the rights of the Iranian people."
World Oil added that the traffic slowdown came after Iranian attacks on vessels prompted U.S. strikes and that London marine insurers reported fewer inquiries and rising cost of cover, signaling growing caution from shipowners as the U.S. and Iran exchange attacks.
