UN Agency Pauses Hormuz Evacuations    06/26 06:08

   A United Nations agency paused the evacuation of ships through the Strait of 
Hormuz on Thursday after the British military said a vessel was hit by a 
projectile off the coast of Oman following the passage of several tankers that 
used a route backed by the U.N.

   DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- A United Nations agency paused the 
evacuation of ships through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday after the British 
military said a vessel was hit by a projectile off the coast of Oman following 
the passage of several tankers that used a route backed by the U.N.

   The head of the International Maritime Organization said the plan to move 
stranded ships out of the Persian Gulf through the strait will be on hold until 
the agency can confirm safety guarantees for the ships on the evacuation list 
and in the region.

   The report of a strike came hours after Iran threatened vessels to stop 
using the route through the strait without Tehran's permission. The vessel that 
was attacked was not part of the evacuation effort, said Arsenio Dominguez, the 
U.N. agency's secretary-general.

   A U.S. official told The Associated Press that the vessel was hit by an 
Iranian drone.

   The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive 
situation, said the merchant vessel Ever Lovely was attacked by a drone being 
flown by the Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

   Following reports of the attack, Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority -- a 
new government agency established to control shipping in the strait -- wrote on 
X that transit outside its own designated routes "will not be covered by the 
guarantee of safe passage."

   The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said the vessel 
sustained damage, but it reported no injuries or environmental effects from the 
attack off the coast of Oman.

   An alternative passage would relieve pressure on economy

   The opening of an alternative passage through the vital waterway would 
relieve pressure on the world economy and remove Iran's main source of leverage 
in ongoing peace talks with the United States. U.S. Secretary of State Marco 
Rubio, on a visit to the Gulf to reassure American allies, said Washington was 
committed to the new route and ensuring that ships are able to transit the 
strait.

   "If that stops, then we're going to have a problem," Rubio said Thursday 
before the report of the strike on the ship.

   Traffic through the strait increased in recent days but was still well below 
prewar levels. Oil on Thursday briefly dipped below its last prewar price of 
just under $73 per barrel, a sign that the market believes the situation is 
improving.

   The U.S. and Iran are still debating terms of an interim peace deal, 
including issues such as getting ships through the narrow mouth of the Persian 
Gulf and addressing the future of Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

   Under the memorandum of understanding signed last week, the U.S. and Iran 
have 60 days to iron out the details. As talks are held behind closed doors, 
U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian leaders have seemed to negotiate in 
public, trading threats and claiming concessions the other side denies.

   Meanwhile, a flare-up of fighting in Lebanon between Israel and 
Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants threatened the wider truce. Lebanon says 
five people have been killed by Israeli strikes over the past two days. Iran 
says the tentative deal to end the war would require Israel to withdraw from 
Lebanon -- a condition Israel has rejected.

   More ships pass through the strait, but far fewer than before the war

   Oil tankers, led by the Stoic Warrior vessel, sailed along the United Arab 
Emirates and then Oman early Thursday, passing by Oman's Musandam Peninsula 
fairly close to the shore. The route was laid out by Oman and the International 
Maritime Organization.

   North of the route is a corridor in the center of the strait where ships 
moved freely before the war, transporting about a fifth of all the world's oil 
and natural gas.

   Iran said it mined that passage after the U.S. and Israel attacked it on 
Feb. 28. At least one mine has been sighted there.

   Though some ships had been getting out of the strait, with U.S. military 
support, the U.N. agency's effort was the latest to free trapped vessels. The 
shipping company Maersk said its container ship, the Maersk Baltimore, and 
another chartered vessel made it out on Thursday.

   Last week, 125 vessels crossed the strait, up from 33 the week before, 
according to marine data and analysis firm Lloyd's List Intelligence.

   According to S&P Global, Wednesday saw 78 transits, the most since the war 
began, but still below the daily prewar average of 130 or more.

   Iran says the new shipping route is 'unacceptable'

   The naval arm of the Revolutionary Guard issued a warning Thursday against 
using the new route.

   In a statement carried by Iran's state-run IRNA news agency, naval officials 
said the route was established without notice or coordination with Iran, 
calling it "unacceptable and completely dangerous."

   "The only authorized route for passing through the Strait of Hormuz is the 
one declared by the Islamic Republic of Iran," the Iranian force said. "Vessel 
traffic outside these routes is extremely dangerous and prohibited."

   "Violators will be dealt with," it added, without elaborating.

   On Wednesday, the Guard threatened one tanker over the radio, with a soldier 
warning, "You are in range of my missiles and maybe (I) fire on you," according 
to the private security firm Ambrey.

   Rubio says the US will ensure there are no tolls on ships

   Rubio met with foreign ministers from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation 
Council to assure them that their interests would be protected in any agreement 
with Iran.

   Those countries, including major energy producers reliant on the strait for 
exports, came under attack by Iran after the start of the war.

   "There is no part in this deal that's undertaken that in any way undermines 
the security, the stability or the prosperity of any of our partners in the 
Gulf region," Rubio said at the meeting in Bahrain.

   Bahrain's foreign minister, Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani, said the 
agreement brought a glimmer of hope but stressed that it was "critically 
important that Iran adheres to its obligations."

   Lebanon remains a flashpoint

   A lull in fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah that started Sunday 
began to show cracks after Israel said it targeted Hezbollah militants.

   Lebanon's health ministry said Thursday that three people were killed by an 
Israeli strike on a car in southern Lebanon.

   Hezbollah has called the recent strikes a ceasefire violation but has not 
retaliated. The Israeli military said Thursday that it fired on two separate 
groups it suspected of being Hezbollah members. The strikes came as Lebanese 
and Israeli officials were in Washington discussing a proposed phased 
withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon.

   Israel's military also said Thursday that a reservist soldier was killed in 
southern Lebanon.