The United States is moving to restore sanctions on Iranian oil exports after three commercial ships were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and Tuesday. The action reverses a temporary suspension of sanctions that had been put in place during a 60-day ceasefire connected to broader regional conflict negotiations.
Those peace talks have been put on hold for one week as Iran conducts funeral ceremonies for the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
A US official confirmed that the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control will be pulling the sanctions waivers in the wake of the attacks.
“As President Trump and the administration have repeatedly affirmed, the MoU in effect with Iran is entirely performance-based. Iran will only reap benefits if they exhibit good behavior,” the official stated.
The official went on to say: “Iran’s actions in the Strait were wholly unacceptable to the United States and will be met with consequences. Our negotiators continue to work in good faith towards a final deal.”
Iranian state television, citing unnamed sources, reported that Tehran had targeted at least one liquefied natural gas tanker after it allegedly failed to heed Iranian warnings. Earlier, a separate US official told Axios that two merchant vessels had been struck by Iranian missiles.
One of the ships hit was the Al Rekayyat, a Qatari-owned LNG tanker. According to The Wall Street Journal, a missile struck the vessel’s engine room and ignited a fire. No injuries or deaths were reported.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency reported that the tanker was struck on its port side while heading southbound, approximately 8 nautical miles — or about 15 kilometers — east of Limah early Tuesday morning. The agency confirmed the strike caused a fire but said there were no casualties or environmental damage.
The attacks followed an announcement by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that it had issued maritime warnings declaring its missiles and drones were prepared to launch.
