In this picture obtained from Iran’s ISNA news agency on June 18, 2026, vessels are seen anchored in Bandar Abbas along the Strait of Hormuz. (Amirhossein Khorgooei – ISNA – AFP / Getty Images)
By Joe Saunders June 25, 2026 at 1:40pm
The on-again, off-again fighting around the Strait of Hormuz flared up again on Thursday when a projectile struck a cargo ship passing through the waterway.
There were no injuries in the incident, according to a terse report from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, an agency of the British military that monitors security conditions at sea.
But it highlighted how tense the region remains.
Fears in Strait of Hormuz as tanker struck after Iran warned ships to turn back https://t.co/jsclx4fRxE pic.twitter.com/bXy2SdZXaZ
— New York Post (@nypost) June 25, 2026
The Wall Street Journal identified the targeted vessel as the Singapore-flagged Ever Lovely.
It identified its attackers as Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the backbone of the nation’s military force.
And it noted that the attack came after Iran warned ships that they are subject to attack if they attempt to use routes through the strait that Tehran has not approved.
Are you confident Trump will successfully resolve the Iran situation?
The attack came only two days after the International Maritime Organization — a United Nations agency that monitors shipping safety — announced it was coordinating a shipping route for tankers to get safely through the strait.
Iran responded by issuing a warning that any vessels attempting to transit the strait outside of routes approved by Iran would be subject to attack.
BREAKING 🔴
Ships are again turning around in the Strait of Hormuz. The IRGC Navy continues to broadcast that the strait is closed, warning that only vessels with Iranian permission may pass and threatening consequences for noncompliance.@_martinkelly_ pic.twitter.com/Vdmjx25YmD
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) June 25, 2026
Within hours of the strike, the IMO announced it was “suspending” its plans to evacuate the many ships that have been unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz because of the U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran that started Feb. 28.
US confirms that Iran fired on a cargo ship passing through the strait of Hormuz.
While the attack has not stopped all traffic, it has prompted the IMO to pause its evacuation operation.
The operation had helped volumes recover: in the last 24 hours, 70-80 ships have transited…
— Gregory Brew (@gbrew24) June 25, 2026
The Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea. Oil from the Gulf states passes through it on the way to the world market.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the struck vessel had been trapped in the Persian Gulf for more than 100 days.
“It sailed toward the mouth of the strait Thursday morning local time, joining three other ships that also were attempting to cross the strait round about the same time,” the newspaper reported.
“All four ships followed the route identified by the IMO, hugging the Omani coast, according to ship tracking data and crew members on a nearby ship. Ever Lovely was sailing the fastest, and therefore leading the group. There was no warning from the Iranian navy to the ships on radio or telling them to turn back, according to the seafarers in the flotilla.”
The attack underscores the fragility of any deal with Iran for the Trump administration as an Iranian military that was largely destroyed by U.S. and Israeli forces remains able to inflict precision points of pain as the Tehran regime remains defiantly in power.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
Joe has spent more than 30 years as a reporter, copy editor and metro desk editor in newsrooms in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Florida. He’s been with Liftable Media since 2015.
Joe has spent more than 30 years as a reporter, copy editor and metro editor in newsrooms in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Florida. He’s been with Liftable Media since 2015. Largely a product of Catholic schools, who discovered Ayn Rand in college, Joe is a lifelong newspaperman who learned enough about the trade to be skeptical of every word ever written. He was also lucky enough to have a job that didn’t need a printing press to do it.
Birthplace
Philadelphia
Nationality
American
