Iran's PGSA says tankers struck in Strait of Hormuz, last three tied to UAE
The strikes follow mediator reports of progress on a deal trading free transit through the strait for an eased blockade.
Published · Updated
Map: The Gulf and Hormuz, marking Strait of Hormuz
UpdateThursday, October 1, 2026 at 4:04 PM ET
The UK Maritime Trade Operations reported a new strike in the Strait of Hormuz: a tanker hit by an unknown projectile that then caught fire. It follows last week's attacks on vessels linked to the UAE. Mediators restarted US-Iran talks on the strait and port blockade on Tuesday. Iran's deadline for a US response on reopening the strait passed that day without an answer, and Fars reported a drone struck a ship on the southern Hormuz route the same day. Tehran has tied the nuclear talks to the same blockade dispute.
Iran's Ports and Maritime Organisation, known as the PGSA, says several tankers have been struck in the Strait of Hormuz in recent days. The last three vessels hit were either owned or chartered by the United Arab Emirates.
The strikes come just after mediators reported progress on a deal that would trade free transit through the strait for an easing of the blockade that has throttled shipping there. Two commodity vessels crossed the strait on Monday, against roughly 125 a day before the conflict began.
The diplomacy around the strait has been unsteady for weeks. Iran's foreign minister, Araghchi, told his cabinet the United States had sent a new proposal as talks over Hormuz dragged on, and Qatar floated its own plan to break the deadlock after an Iranian deadline for a US reply passed unanswered.
Targeting vessels tied to the UAE marks a shift from the rhetorical brinkmanship that has dominated coverage of the strait since talks on reopening it resumed. It also pulls a Gulf mediator directly into the line of fire, complicating the diplomatic channel Abu Dhabi has used with Washington. With traffic through the strait already a fraction of its pre-conflict level, further strikes add to a disruption that is no longer just threatened but actually happening.