Hormuz traffic slows further after US threatens more economic pressure on Iran

Transit through the Strait of Hormuz appeared to grind to a near standstill on Friday after two more ships were attacked there and the United States said it could maintain a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely.

A senior Iranian source said on Wednesday that there had been no progress in talks to build on a June agreement to end the war. Since the ceasefire renewed in the June deal broke down, Iran has resumed attacks on ships it accuses of trying to transit the strait without its permission.

The United Arab Emirates’ Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said two of its vessels were attacked transiting the strait on Thursday evening. The UAE government blamed Iran, which made no immediate comment.

Two vessels passed through the narrow waterway on Friday, according to analysis from ship tracking firm Kpler: a grain ship entering Iranian waters and an empty dry bulk ship going in the other direction.

A separate empty liquefied petroleum products tanker was sailing into the Gulf via the strait, the data showed. There were no crude oil shipments visible on Friday.

Nine vessels passed through the strait on Thursday, up from five on Wednesday but below the average of 12 for August.

Some ships may pass through undetected with their transponders off, but the figures are nowhere near the more than 130 ships that traversed the Strait of Hormuz daily before the war launched by the US and Israel on Iran in February.