Middle East Crisis Strait of Hormuz

Explosion in Hormuz – tanker hits mine

An oil tanker of unclear origin has hit a mine in the Strait of Hormuz, reports TT. The explosion occurred after the ship deviated from the route that Iran had marked as approved.

There is no confirmed information about deaths or injuries. Nor about the ship's origin, owner or destination.

Iranian authorities state that shipping through the strait is continuing completely normally, writes India Shipping News.

Iran and Oman in talks about rules for the Strait of Hormuz

Iran has held talks with Oman over the weekend about how the Strait of Hormuz should be managed in the future, the Iranian regime states according to AFP.

The hope is to agree on common rules for passing ships, according to Esmaeil Baqaei, spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry. The discussions, however, do not appear to have any bearing on the United States.

As recently as June, both countries said they planned to impose tariffs on passing ships, something Washington opposed. US President Donald Trump said at the time that he wanted to take over the strait and demand a 20 percent tariff in exchange for the US military staying in to guarantee security.