Cargo Ship Hit in Strait of Hormuz as US-Iran Talks Remain in Limbo

A cargo vessel was struck by an unknown projectile overnight in the Strait of Hormuz, British maritime authorities said, the latest in a string of attacks against Gulf shipping as the fate of talks between the United States and Iran to end their war remains in limbo.The UK Maritime Trade Operations Center (UKMTO) said on Aug. 4 that the cargo ship reported being hit by an unknown projectile at 2 a.m. local time while it was 23 miles northeast of Al Khasab in Oman. The agency did not identify the ship, its flag, or the cargo it was carrying.The attack occurred near the southern shipping route along Oman’s coast that has been backed by the United States during its dispute with Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz.A day earlier, UKMTO reported an explosion near another vessel in roughly the same area. Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency later published photographs it identified as showing the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Velos Amber with flames around its stern.Iran has not explicitly claimed responsibility for either incident.The latest attack came after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that negotiations with Iran were underway and described the talks as Tehran’s “last chance” to reach an agreement.Dispute Over Status of TalksTrump said over the weekend that he had paused major U.S. strikes after Gulf allies urged him to give diplomacy more time.He indicated that the planned attacks would be the most significant since World War II, adding that his wish was for a negotiated settlement to the conflict to avoid more bloodshed.“Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack,” Trump said in a post on social media, while warning that he was prepared to order the strikes if Iran failed to move towards a deal.The president described two phases in the talks, with the first including the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. That would occur on Aug. 4, he said. The second phase, the denuclearization of Iran, will take longer, he said.Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, on May 22, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA via ReutersIran denied that it was negotiating with Washington.Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday that Tehran was holding talks only with Oman, focused on establishing a temporary route for safe passage through the strait.“We are not currently negotiating with the United States,” Baghaei said.He said Iran and Oman were discussing a new shipping corridor that would replace the current northern route controlled by Iran and the southern passage supported by the United States. Baghaei also said the strait would not return to its pre-war arrangement.Trump responded by accusing Iranian leaders of being “unbelievably duplicitous,” saying they had sought negotiations while publicly denying that talks were taking place.The Hormuz dispute remains a central obstacle to a broader settlement. Washington says a June memorandum required Iran to reopen the waterway, while Tehran says the agreement preserved its authority over the strait.Clash Over HormuzThe United States and Iran have been locked in a tense dispute over vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane for crude oil and other commodities. Traffic through the maritime chokepoint has slowed to a crawl compared to before the outbreak of the Iran war.Tehran has repeatedly declared the strait closed, both in retaliation for being attacked and to pressure Washington to agree to a negotiated settlement that would leave Hormuz under Iranian management.As part of its pressure campaign, Tehran has been trying to force ships to take the Iran-controlled northern route, menacing ships that try to circumnavigate the passage and instead use a U.S.-backed southern lane along the Omani coast.A man rides past Iranian-made missiles displayed at Azadi Square in Tehran on July 24, 2026. AFP via Getty ImagesThe Joint Maritime Information Center said in an Aug. 2 assessment that the threat level in the Strait of Hormuz remained severe, with deliberate hostile action by Iranian forces considered “highly likely” under current conditions, including pressure on ships to transit through the Iran-controlled northern corridor.The United States has continued enforcing a naval blockade against ships going to and coming from Iranian ports. U.S. Central Command said on Aug. 3 that American forces had redirected 44 commercial vessels, disabled two, and boarded two since the blockade began.“We have total control,” Trump told reporters on Monday. “You know, we have a thing called a blockade with the Navy … they call it a wall of steel. The United States wall of steel.”Trump said it was Iran’s “last chance” to sign a “good document,” adding that he wants to give Iran “every last chance before decapitation.”Jack Phillips contributed to this report.