The number of vessels tracked transiting the Strait of Hormuz fell to a one-week low of eight, according to data reported by the Reuters news agency. Around 130 ships a day passed through the vital waterway before the war started on February 28.Six people on a vessel in the Red Sea were killed by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, Yemen's coast guard said Tuesday.The U.S. military said Tuesday it had fired on a Panama-flagged ship in the Gulf of Oman that tried to evade the American blockade of Iran.
Oil from a spill has reached parts of Iran's Qeshm island in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported Wednesday, and authorities are investigating its source.
According to the report, Iran's Department of Environment said oil was spotted along parts of the island's coastline. Cleanup operations are underway and are expected to be completed by the end of Wednesday.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Wednesday sharply reduced its forecast for global oil demand this year, with supplies still crimped by the disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and high prices deterring buyers.
Demand is expected to slump by 1.6 million barrels per day, compared with its forecast slump of one million barrels in its previous monthly report in July.
Crude prices have remained well above levels seen before the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran in late February, sparking a war that has seen oil infrastructure damaged in several Gulf countries and some supply routes for oil severely disrupted.
Tehran also responded by effectively shutting down tanker and cargo traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which around one-fifth of global oil supplies usually transit.
"The ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz and elevated fuel prices continue to weigh on oil consumption," the Paris-based IEA said.
Despite a purported ceasefire and repeated claims that a deal to open the strait was imminent – which the IEA referred to as "sudden diplomatic pivots" – only a handful of ships are being let through, leading to volatile pricing on global oil markets.
The IEA said global supplies rose by 2.4 million barrels per day in July, to reach 101.5 million barrels per day, but that was still 6.3 million per day lower than a year ago.
But "renewed hostilities and maritime disruptions in July and early August undermined the recovery efforts," the agency said.
It now expects global supply to fall by 4.3 million barrels per day on average this year, before recovering next year.
On the demand side, the IEA is projecting a return to growth in the fourth quarter of this year.
Iran still has more than 75% of its missile and drone capability intact, a military official said Tuesday.
Iranian Army Deputy Commander for Executive Affairs, Brig. Gen. Alireza Sheikh, told state news agency IRNA that "more than 75% of Iran's missile and drone capabilities remain intact and ready."
The claim comes after President Trump denied last week that the U.S. has nearly run out of its stockpile of long-range missiles.
"The 'leakers' of these treasonous statements are being hunted down," Mr. Trump wrote on social media. "Long term jail sentences will be sought!"
Sheikh also emphasized Iran's drone capability, particularly the Arash drone, claiming that it had "become the enemy's nightmare."
He added that Iran's strategy was to impose disproportionate costs on its adversaries with relatively inexpensive systems.
"Victory in diplomacy is the product of power on the battlefield," he added.
Pakistan's interior minister is visiting Iran to discuss regional security, stability and other developments, the Pakistani foreign office said Wednesday, as Islamabad tries to mediate a resolution to the Iran war.
Mohsin Naqvi, who has previously been involved in mediation efforts between Iran and the U.S., is known to be close to the powerful head of the Pakistani army, Asim Munir.
Iranian state news agency IRNA reported late Tuesday that Naqvi met with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni.
"He is discussing bilateral relations, security, regional security and stability, and constructive engagement amongst the parties in the region and regional developments," Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi told reporters in Islamabad.
The Iranian government's website said Naqvi conveyed to Pezeshkian "a message from the Pakistani prime minister and the chief of the army," without specifying its content.
Pakistan's defense minister told Bloomberg in Islamabad on Tuesday that the U.S. and Iran are close to "some sort of an arrangement."
"Things are shaping up again in favor of a peace arrangement or a deal," he said. "The signals in the last two three days are that we are close to some sort of an arrangement."
Last week, Iran said it had agreed a route with neighboring Oman for ships transiting the strait and was finalizing arrangements for jointly managing the strategic waterway.
On Tuesday the U.S. military announced that it had fired on a Panama-flagged cargo ship that attempted to break the American blockade of Iran's ports.
The number of vessels tracked transiting the Strait of Hormuz fell to a one-week low of eight, according to data reported by the Reuters news agency, as the ongoing conflict and stalemate kept shipping companies away from the vital waterway.
Tuesday's tally of eight vessels fell below a 10-day average of about 12, for the lowest daily count since August 5, according to Kpler data reported by Reuters.
Around 130 ships a day passed through the vital waterway before the war started on February 28.
The alleged Houthi strikes that left at least six people dead aboard a cargo vessel off Yemen are the first known deaths from Houthi attacks on shipping in the region, since the latest bout of fighting in the country began.
The deadly incident in the Bab el-Mandeb strait came amid Houthi attacks on the government-held port city of Mokha on the Red Sea and other areas of the country, which killed dozens of government troops and civilians since last week, according to the Yemeni military.
The strikes are part of an escalation by the Houthis against government forces in Yemen and oil facilities in neighboring Saudi Arabia, which supports the Yemeni government, and the kingdom's shipping in the Red Sea.
The Houthi attacks could reignite Yemen's civil war following a 2022 truce, and open a new front in the Middle East war.
Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the Houthis' chief negotiator and spokesperson, accused Saudi Arabia in a social media post of exploiting the ceasefire to tighten an air and sea blockade it imposed in 2015.
He said the Houthis are open for negotiations but any settlement must include lifting the blockade.
An American military helicopter struck a Panama-flagged vessel after it tried to bypass the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, U.S. Central Command said.
It was unclear if there were casualties from the attack after a U.S. Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles into the Vela Nova's engine room, according to CENTCOM. The ship's civilian crew allegedly ignored repeated warnings from U.S. forces as they attempted to transit the Gulf of Oman.
"The ship is no longer transiting to Iran in violation of the U.S. blockade, which remains in full effect," CENTCOM said.
As of Tuesday, CENTCOM said it has disabled three non-compliant vessels, boarded two and redirected 55 commercial vessels attempting to run the U.S. blockade.