Iran IRGC Closes Strait of Hormuz, Strikes Cargo Ship
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- Iran's IRGC fired a missile at a commercial cargo ship attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, damaging the vessel, and declared the strait "closed until further notice" until the end of "American interventions."
- The IRGC said it had warned several ships about an "unauthorized route" and fired a "warning shot" after the cargo ship failed to change course.
- The attack came one day after the Trump administration demanded Iran publicly guarantee safe passage through the strait — a stated US condition for halting the cycle of fighting.
- The strike came hours after Iran's foreign minister, his Omani counterpart, and Qatari officials concluded a full day of negotiations in Muscat aimed at resolving the standoff.
- Oman proposed fully reopening both shipping lanes during Saturday's talks, including unrestricted transit on the southern route through Omani waters — the same lane the struck cargo ship was transiting.
- Iran's delegation could not get approval for the Omani proposal in Muscat and took it back to Tehran for further internal discussions, according to a diplomat briefed on the talks.
- The incident threatens to collapse the US-Iran memorandum of understanding reached last month, with President Trump having declared the ceasefire "over" this week.
Why it matters: The struck cargo ship was transiting the exact southern route Oman had just proposed reopening unconditionally — meaning Iran effectively torpedoed the diplomatic compromise while negotiators were still in Muscat. With Trump declaring the June ceasefire "over" and the IRGC now formally closing the strait after firing on a commercial vessel, the diplomatic track is collapsing in real time, not just stalling.
