U.S. Opens Protected Hormuz Passage as UAE Accuses Iran of Renewed Attacks

The U.S. military said it opened a protected passage through the Strait of Hormuz on May 4 and escorted two U.S.-flagged merchant ships through it, according to NPR reporting on U.S. Central Command statements. At the same time, the UAE accused Iran of renewed missile and drone attacks, including strikes near Fujairah and against an empty ADNOC tanker, Reuters reported. The strait carries roughly a fifth of the world's oil and gas shipments, making any closure or disruption globally significant, according to Reuters.

The Details

NPR reported that Adm. Brad Cooper said U.S. forces sank six small Iranian boats after missiles, drones and small boats targeted civilian ships under U.S. protection in the Strait of Hormuz. Cooper said U.S. commanders operating in the area had authority to defend their units and commercial shipping. "The U.S. commanders who are on the scene have all the authority necessary to defend their unit and to defend commercial shipping -- as we saw and demonstrated earlier today," Cooper said, according to NPR.

The UAE said Iran attacked it for the first time since an April ceasefire, Reuters reported. Reuters said UAE air defences intercepted three Iranian missiles while a fourth fell into the sea. The UAE Foreign Ministry called the reported attacks "a dangerous escalation and an unacceptable violation," according to NPR.

Authorities in Fujairah said a drone strike caused a fire at the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone and injured three Indian nationals, Reuters reported. Fujairah is strategically important because it sits at the end of the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline, allowing some UAE exports to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, according to Reuters.

Reuters separately reported that the UAE accused Iran of attacking the empty ADNOC tanker Barakah with two drones while it attempted to pass through the strait. No injuries were reported in that tanker incident, according to Reuters.

The UAE Foreign Ministry said Iran should halt the attacks and commit to reopening the strait, Reuters reported. "The UAE further stressed the need for Iran to halt these unprovoked attacks, ensure its full commitment to an immediate cessation of all hostilities, and the complete and unconditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz," the ministry said, according to Reuters.

Iranian accounts disputed key parts of the U.S. and UAE narrative. Reuters reported that Iranian state media said Iran had no plan to target the UAE, even as UAE officials accused Tehran of missile and drone attacks. NPR reported that an anonymous Iranian military official quoted on state television said, "The incident resulted from U.S. military adventurism to create an illegal passage."

CBC, citing Associated Press reporting, independently matched the broad account that the UAE came under missile and drone attack while the U.S. said it was reopening the strait and had sunk six small boats. CBC and the Associated Press also reported that Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps denied that commercial vessels had crossed the strait in the previous hours, contradicting U.S. claims that two American-flagged ships successfully transited.

Context

The confrontation follows a fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire that took effect in early April after more than a month of fighting, Reuters reported. The UAE's statement that Iran attacked it for the first time since that ceasefire places the latest allegations inside that post-ceasefire period, according to Reuters.

Reuters reported that the Strait of Hormuz carries roughly a fifth of the world's oil and gas shipments. That fact makes the U.S. claim that it reopened a protected passage, and Iran's denial reported by CBC and the Associated Press that commercial vessels had crossed, central disputed points in the current account.

Reuters reported that Fujairah sits at the end of the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline, which allows some UAE exports to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. Authorities in Fujairah said the drone strike caused a fire at the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone and injured three Indian nationals, Reuters reported.

What's Next

U.S. officials are framing the operation as a protected reopening push through the Strait of Hormuz, according to NPR reporting on U.S. Central Command statements. Cooper said U.S. commanders on the scene had authority to defend U.S. units and commercial shipping, according to NPR.

The UAE is pressing Iran to stop the attacks and commit to the complete and unconditional reopening of the strait, according to the UAE Foreign Ministry statement carried by Reuters. Iranian state media and the Revolutionary Guard Corps disputed parts of the U.S. and UAE accounts, according to Reuters and CBC reporting that cited the Associated Press.