Ship hit in Strait of Hormuz, Trump threatens to bomb Oman

HEADLINES IN BRIEF

A ship is hit on its way through the Strait of Hormuz. READ MORE BELOW

US President Donald Trump says he will bomb Oman if it 'gets in the way'. READ MORE BELOW

Iran will escalate if an interim peace deal is not implemented, says official. READ MORE BELOW

Türkiye urges Trump to seek a diplomatic solution to war. READ MORE BELOW

IN DETAIL

Ship hit on way through Strait of Hormuz

An unidentified projectile damaged the engine room of a ship and "resulted in a crew casualty" early on Tuesday morning as the vessel was trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman, the UKMTO said, citing a report from the company's security office.

The maritime monitoring agency did not release any details about the ship or its cargo, and it was not clear whether the crew member was killed in the attack or wounded.

It said the Omani Coast Guard was assisting other crew members and that authorities were investigating.

There has been growing concern about oil spilling into the Persian Gulf and other area waters from vessels damaged as they have attempted to transit the strait, but the UKMTO said no environmental damage had been reported in the latest attack.

It comes as Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Qalibaf said the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the United States meets conditions of the interim deal with Iran including lifting the marine blockade and sanctions as well as freeing Iran's frozen assets.

Trump threatens to bomb Oman

Iran said point 5 of the Memorandum of Understanding gave it the right to manage the strait, which it shares with US ally Oman, while the US rejected that interpretation.

Hostilities resumed as Iran began firing on vessels it said were trying to sail through Hormuz on an unapproved route, and US President Donald Trump said on July 7 that the pact was "over".

An Iranian official told Reuters the US must meet the entirety of the MoU's provisions within a few weeks as a precondition for further negotiations.

Even as Iran projects resilience in the war, its leaders are worried that a threat of more economic punishment could increase hardships, reignite unrest and further erode the Islamic Republic's legitimacy, according to three Iranian officials.

Iran entered the war with high inflation, a weakening currency, energy shortages, sanctions and deep structural weaknesses, and must now contend with damaged infrastructure, disrupted trade, lost production and the cost of rebuilding.

Iran has separately been negotiating an agreement on managing the strait with Oman and says they are close to a deal.

Trump responded to those negotiations with a threat against the Gulf state, a longstanding US security partner.

"If Oman gets in the way, we'll bomb the **** out of them," Trump told Fox News.

Iran warns of new offensive

Iran will shift to a "fully offensive" military posture because efforts to negotiate a permanent end to the war with the US have stalled, a senior Iranian official said on Monday, as Washington ruled out extending a temporary ceasefire agreement.

Outward progress towards peace talks and a resumption of oil tanker traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz has ground to a halt, threatening to extend the conflict.

"Iranian entities must be prepared to escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and wider region, as Iran will be ready to make decisions and take action on difficult decisions," the Iranian official said, adding that Tehran would conduct a "timely and precise" military attack to break the US naval blockade if diplomacy failed.

A memorandum of understanding signed in June to end the war had given Iran and the US until Monday to reach a final peace agreement.

Signed on June 17, the memorandum set a 60-day time frame for a broader deal on Iran's nuclear programme and US sanctions.

The agreement, which declared the "immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts", quickly unraveled over a dispute about control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Asked by reporters on Monday if the US was seeking to extend June's interim agreement, Trump said no.

Türkiye urges Trump to seek diplomatic solution to war

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged Trump in a telephone call to continue to seek a diplomatic solution to the conflict with Iran.

The call between the two presidents came late on Monday as the 60-day negotiating period to find a peace deal between the United States and Iran was expiring, with no word of an extension and both sides seemingly as far apart as they were at the start.

"President Erdogan said it is important to make maximum use of diplomacy amid tensions between Iran and the United States, expressed our hope that talks will continue, and noted that Turkey will keep supporting efforts toward peace," according to a statement from the Turkish presidential communications office.

Erdogan also expressed concerns over intensified Israeli actions targeting Palestinians at a time when efforts are underway to move to the second phase of the Gaza agreement, the statement said.

Türkiye, a NATO member that borders Iran, earlier this month signed a joint defense agreement with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, which stipulates "that any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all".

Trump praised the agreement, saying in a social media post that "it shows how the Middle East is coming together, and how countries will finally be able to defend themselves in a more meaningful way".