US-Iran Military Escalation Renews Fears In Strait of Hormuz, Shipping Recovery At Risk
US-Iran Military Escalation Renews Fears In Strait of Hormuz, Shipping Recovery At Risk Published By, Last Updated: June 28, 2026, 07:35 IST Fresh US-Iran strikes
US-Iran Military Escalation Renews Fears In Strait of Hormuz, Shipping Recovery At Risk Published By, Last Updated: June 28, 2026, 07:35 IST Fresh US-Iran strikes have renewed fears over shipping safety in the Strait of Hormuz, with commercial traffic facing fresh disruption despite a recent peace agreement. Boats anchored off Oman’s northern Musandam Peninsula near the Strait of Hormuz (Photo: AFP) Renewed military exchanges between the United States and Iran have threatened to derail the gradual recovery of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, with fresh attacks over the past three days raising concerns among ship operators despite a preliminary peace agreement aimed at reopening the vital waterway. The latest strikes underscored that both Washington and Tehran remain willing to use military force to gain the upper hand in the strategically important strait, a key route for global oil and gas shipments. The renewed tensions have left shipping companies wary of resuming normal operations despite traffic through the Strait of Hormuz recently reaching its highest levels since the conflict began, The New York Times reported. “Shipping is literally caught in the crossfire as the US and Iran battle for control of the Hormuz Strait," Michelle Wiese Bockmann, an analyst at maritime intelligence firm Windward, was quoted as saying.
“This does little to restore confidence that security and safety can be guaranteed to get stranded ships out," Bockmann added. The renewed hostilities come despite a preliminary peace agreement signed about a week ago that included provisions to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. However, the two sides have since accused each other of violating the agreement after both launched fresh strikes, marking the worst escalation since the interim deal was reached. Washington said it struck Iranian targets overnight, while Iran said it responded by attacking targets linked to US forces. The latest escalation followed an attack on a cargo vessel in the strait on Thursday and reports that a tanker was struck by a projectile on Saturday. On Saturday, Bahrain, a US ally in the region, said it had been attacked by Iranian drones, apparently in retaliation for American strikes on Iran a day earlier. The US strikes, in turn, were launched after Iran fired on the cargo vessel Ever Lovely while it was navigating the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday. The New York Times reported that the attacks have prevented the waterway from returning to normal operations. Following the attack on the Ever Lovely, the International Maritime Organisation, a United Nations agency, halted efforts to evacuate hundreds of commercial vessels that remain stranded in the Persian Gulf.
The BriefWire