US efforts to end Iran war stumble as ship seized near UAE

US efforts to end the war with Iran were dealt a setback after a commercial vessel was apparently seized by unauthorized personnel near the United Arab Emirates, adding to uncertainty over control of the critical Strait of Hormuz.

The ship, whose identity wasn’t disclosed, was taken 38 nautical miles off the UAE coast and was bound for the Islamic Republic, the UK Maritime Trade Operations said on Thursday.

The incident came as there appears to be an uptick in vessels transiting the strait, which usually handles about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supply. Its effective closure since the US and Israel began bombing Iran in late February has upended energy markets and led to global supply shortages.

Iran said Thursday a number of Chinese vessels will transit the strait following discussions with Beijing’s foreign ministry, the semi-official Fars news agency reported, citing a source it didn’t identify. Vessels will be allowed through according to “Iranian management protocols,” the agency added.

A separate report by Iranian state TV said over 30 ships have been allowed passage through the strait since Wednesday night, according to an official from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ navy.

The US hasn’t commented on movements through the Persian Gulf’s chokepoint, where it’s refused to lift a blockade on Iranian ports. Yet, ten vessels carrying oil, fuel and gas have made it through since Sunday, an increase from recent weeks.

The reports coincide with President Donald Trump’s visit to China, during which the US will try to enlist Beijing’s help in breaking the stalemate in negotiations with Iran to end the war. China is the Islamic Republic’s largest oil buyer and a key diplomatic partner, granting it a degree of diplomatic sway over the Islamic Republic. It supplies Tehran with goods from consumer products to electronics.

In a readout of the meeting between Trump and President Xi Jinping, a White House official said the two sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must be open to support the free flow of energy.

Oil prices held steady on Thursday, with Brent crude trading at about $105 a barrel after falling 2% in the previous session. They’ve risen by nearly 50% since the war began, and the International Monetary Fund has warned of a broad slowdown in global growth.

The US-Iran ceasefire that’s been in place since April 8 has broadly held, though Trump described it this week as being on “massive life support.”

US Vice President JD Vance, who led a round of direct talks with Iran in Pakistan in April, said there’s been “progress” in negotiations with Tehran.

“The president has set us off on the diplomatic pathway for now and that’s what I’m focused on,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

Iran continues to resist US demands to reopen Hormuz and says it will only do that if Washington ends its naval blockade. It’s also insisting that the US unfreezes billions of dollars of Iranian assets and lifts sanctions.

Despite weeks of heavy US-Israeli bombardment, Iran’s military still has plenty of firepower. New US intelligence assessments show Iran has operational access to 30 of its 33 missile sites along the Hormuz strait and has retained roughly 70% of its prewar missile stockpile, according to a New York Times report, citing classified information.

Iran used missiles and drones to launch retaliatory attacks on Arab states across the Gulf, with the UAE bearing the brunt.

The war is upending Middle Eastern geopolitics, with one significant shift being closer military and intelligence collaboration between the UAE and Israel. The two countries, which established diplomatic relations via the US-backed Abraham Accords during Trump’s first term, coordinated on airstrikes against Iran in early April, Bloomberg reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Wednesday that he made a secret visit to the UAE during the war, though the UAE denied the claim.

Here’s more related to the war:

• India called for solidarity at a meeting of BRICS foreign ministers on Thursday, as New Delhi seeks to bridge divisions within the bloc over the conflict in the Middle East.
• Iran won’t join another round of talks with the US unless five confidence-building preconditions are met, including sanctions relief and release of frozen funds, the Fars news agency reported.
• A Japanese supertanker has emerged in the Gulf of Oman after last signaling that it was inside the Persian Gulf, indicating a rare, undercover transit through Hormuz by a vessel from the Asian country.

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