Persian Gulf shipping: Multiple vessels report strikes and mine hits

The British military reported on Thursday that a tanker was hit by two projectiles off the coast of Qatar in the Persian Gulf. The incident occurred on Wednesday north of the city of Madinat ash Shamal. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center stated that the condition of the crew is currently unconfirmed and that the extent of damage remains unknown. The organization did not identify the specific vessel, and no group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.

In a separate report, Iranian state television claimed that two oil tankers and a towboat struck naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz. The broadcast said the vessels caught fire but provided no details regarding casualties or the national flags of the ships. This report could not be independently verified at the time of publication. Iranian state media also quoted the Revolutionary Guard as saying the group seized two U.S. drones in the airspace over the strait. Tehran initially closed the waterway after the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran in February.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi spoke by phone with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to discuss resuming navigation through the strait. The Omani ministry stated that both sides confirmed the importance of reaching understandings that ensure the safety of maritime passages. Meanwhile, South Korea proposed expanding the operational area of an anti-piracy naval unit deployed near Somalia to include waters south of Oman. Defense Ministry spokesperson Chung Binna said the expansion was due to increased pirate activity linked to regional conflicts. She clarified that South Korea would not directly join military operations to secure the Strait of Hormuz unless the war ended or an agreement to stop fighting was reached.

In Jordan, authorities described a terrorist act in the capital Amman where a security officer was killed near the Sri Lankan Embassy. The Public Security Directorate said the officer was attacked with a sharp object. State-run Al-Mamlaka TV reported that the assailant attempted to seize a weapon, prompting a second officer to intervene. Both the attacker and the second officer were injured, and the assailant was arrested.

Health officials in the Gaza Strip said three Palestinians were killed in separate incidents on Thursday. Awda Hospital reported that a boy was killed by Israeli gunfire in Bureij. Nasser Hospital said a woman was fatally shot in Khan Younis. An Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah killed one person, a strike the Israeli military said it was aware of. The army did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the other two incidents.

In Yemen, the Houthi-run Ministry of Health reported that seven people were killed and six were injured in two Saudi airstrikes. Spokesperson Anees Al-Asbahy said one raid targeted a farm in Saada, while a second occurred as paramedics arrived on scene. The Saudi Ministry of Information did not immediately comment. Separately, the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted a cruise missile over Medina. Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, the military spokesperson for the Houthis, denied the claim and stated that their operations target only Saudi oil facilities and military bases.

In Israel, President Isaac Herzog continued meetings with political parties to determine who will form the next coalition government. The United Arab List and the Joint List both recommended giving former military chief Gadi Eisenkot the first opportunity. The ultra-Orthodox party United Torah Judaism refrained from making a recommendation, a move that likely favors Eisenkot over current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.