Cargo ship reports being struck in Strait of Hormuz as US, Iran claims about talks diverge

CAIRO: A British maritime monitoring agency said a cargo ship reported being hit by a projectile overnight off the coast of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz, while the United States and Iran made opposing claims about whether they were holding talks.

US President Donald Trump on Monday said the two sides were resuming talks to wind down the war. But Iran insisted it was only talking with Oman and that the discussion focused on the Strait of Hormuz.

Here is a look at the most important developments in the Middle East on Tuesday.

Cargo ship reports strike in Strait of Hormuz

The cargo ship reported being “hit by an unknown projectile” at 2 am local time while it was 37 kilometres (23 miles) northeast of Al Khasab in Oman, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said.

The UKMTO did not provide further information on the ship, including what flag the vessel was sailing under or whether it was carrying cargo.

The ship suffered damage, according to British maritime security firm Ambrey, which did not elaborate.

The town of Al Khasab sits on the tip of the Arabian Peninsula that juts into the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas passed before the war.

The strait has been effectively shut by Iran’s attacks on shipping since the start of the war in February, while the US has also imposed a blockade on Iranian ports in the waterway.

Yemen’s Houthis say they fired a drone toward an airport in Saudi Arabia

A military spokesman for the Iranian-backed rebels, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, claimed the drone hit a “sensitive target” at the airport in the south‑western city of Najran. He did not provide evidence.

He said the drone attack was in response to what he called Saudi breaching of Yemen’s airspace over the provinces of Saada and Hajjah. There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia.

The Houthis recently announced they were imposing a blockade on Saudi-linked shipping passing through the Bab el‑Mandeb Strait that leads to the Red Sea. The rebels have long been at odds with Saudi Arabia, having fought a war against the kingdom and its allies. Major fighting ended with a truce in 2022.

The Houthi rebels seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen in a civil war that began in 2014. Saudi Arabia led an international coalition fighting the rebels, and also imposed an air and sea blockade on Houthi-led parts of Yemen that has eased in recent years.

Qatar says mediation underway after US, Iran offer conflicting claims

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al‑Ansari said on Tuesday that mediation efforts were under way with all parties. “We’re looking into a diplomatic solution,” he said during a briefing. He did not elaborate or mention the conflicting statements from the US and Iran about direct talks.

Trump said on Monday that talks with Iran had resumed, a day after saying he called off massive strikes he had threatened to unleash on the country. Trump said he pulled back at the urging of Gulf allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

“Whether Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking,” Trump maintained.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said on Monday that no negotiations were being held with the US, adding that Tehran’s talks were only with Oman and focused on establishing a route for safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump voiced frustration with Iran, suggesting Tehran had asked for the talks, which are critical to ending the months‑long conflict and reviving stalled cargo traffic through the strait.

“Iranian Leadership is unbelievably duplicitous!” the US president vented on Truth Social, his social media platform.

“They ask for a meeting, some would say ‘beg,’ talks begin, with more scheduled in the immediate future, and they say, openly and proudly, that they’re not having any discussions, that nothing is being talked about, and they’re only dealing with ‘Oman’,” he wrote.

Gaza holds mass funeral for people killed in 2023 airstrike

Gaza residents held a mass funeral on Tuesday for 112 Palestinians whose bodies were recovered after nearly three years under the rubble in Gaza City. They were among more than 300 people killed on Nov 22, 2023, when Israeli warplanes flattened a residential block in the city’s Sabra neighbourhood.

First responders recovered the bodies over the weekend after digging through the rubble for 136 hours, according to the Civil Defence, a rescue agency operated under Gaza’s Hamas‑run Interior Ministry.

The bodies included 40 children, 30 women and seven people with disabilities, the Civil Defence said in a statement, adding that another 157 people remained missing under the rubble.

Hundreds of people gathered for the funeral, where the bodies wrapped in Palestinian flags were laid in rows near the flattened buildings before being carried on stretchers through a narrow street for burial in a nearby cemetery.

The Gaza war began on Oct 7, 2023, when Hamas‑led militants attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage.

Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has since killed 73,375 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Its figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants but they are considered generally reliable by the United Nations and other international organisations.

Victims’ relatives mark anniversary of Beirut port explosion

Families of some of the more than 200 people killed in the 2020 Beirut port explosion gathered at the blast site to mark six years since tonnes of improperly stored ammonium nitrate exploded, devastating large parts of the Lebanese capital.

No official has been convicted in a judicial investigation that has been repeatedly obstructed. The tragedy has since been overshadowed by other dramatic events, including two wars between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group that have killed thousands in Lebanon and left widespread destruction, and an Israeli military occupation of much of the country’s south.

But some of the families said they have renewed hope that the long‑stalled investigation is nearing a breakthrough, after officials from the government of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam promised that indictments would be issued by the end of the year.

By RSS/AP