Strait of Hormuz

Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa speaks during a meeting with US President Donald Trump, May 21, 2017, in Riyadh. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

August 19, 2019, 8:48 pm

Bahrain to join US-led efforts to protect Gulf navigation from Iran

King Hamad meets US CENTCOM chief, does not elaborate on what role kingdom will take in maritime mission

By AFP

Crew members of Iranian supertanker Grace 1 walk on board off the coast of Gibraltar on August 15, 2019. (JORGE GUERRERO / AFP)

August 16, 2019, 6:25 am

US threatens to ban visas for released Iran tanker crew

After failed bid to stop Gibraltar from letting ship go, Washington says vessel still in breach of sanctions by aiding Revolutionary Guards

By AFP

The Grace 1 super tanker, suspected of carrying Iranian crude oil to Syria in violation of EU sanctions, in the British territory of Gibraltar after it was detained, July 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Marcos Moreno)

August 13, 2019, 2:44 pm

Iran claims UK will soon free supertanker seized off Gibraltar

Grace 1 remains impounded after being seized by the Royal Navy on suspicion of delivering oil to Syria

By Agencies and TOI staff

Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohamed Alhakim attends a meeting with his Egyptian and Jordanian counterparts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Baghdad, Iraq, August 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

August 12, 2019, 6:05 pm

Iraq rejects Israeli participation in US-led naval mission in Gulf

Mohammed al-Hakim says Arab states don’t need foreign assistance to secure strait amid Iranian ship seizures

By Agencies and TOI staff

Islamic Revolution Guards Corps commander Alireza Tangsiri. (Screen capture/YouTube)

August 11, 2019, 10:52 pm

Iran’s navy chief warns any Israeli presence in Gulf could ‘spark war’

Remark follows reports Israel taking part in US-led mission to secure Western vessels in Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has seized several tankers

By TOI staff

Iranian defense officials unveil new cruise missile Hoveyzeh in Tehran, February 2, 2019 (YouTube screenshot)

August 10, 2019, 12:24 pm

Iran unveils ‘upgraded’ missile defense system with ‘high capabilities’

Tehran says locally reconstructed system can detect all types of cruise and ballistic missiles, and drones; has a range of 400 kilometers

By Agencies and TOI staff

American warships USS Boxer, front, USNS Tippecanoe, right, USS John P. Murtha transit the Strait of Hormuz, July 18, 2019. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Jason Monty/Released)

August 10, 2019, 4:19 am

Iran says Israeli involvement in US-led naval mission a threat to its security

Tehran warns it will counter Jerusalem’s presence in the region in self-defense after Israel’s FM reportedly said it was helping secure Strait of Hormuz

By Agencies and TOI staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, third right, and US Ambassador David Friedman, third left, aboard the US Navy's guided-missile destroyer USS Ross, docked at Ashdod Port on October 11, 2018. (Marc Israel Sellem/Pool/Flash90)

August 8, 2019, 4:26 pm

Iran says Israeli involvement in Gulf naval mission would be ‘disastrous’

Defense chief slams Israel’s willingness to assist US-led efforts as ‘highly provocative’; IRGC chief warns Hamas and Hezbollah will cause Jewish state’s ‘collapse’ in next war

By AFP and TOI staff

Illustrative: A UH-1Y Venom helicopter takes off from the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer in the Strait of Hormuz, July 18, 2019. (US Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Dalton Swanbeck/Released)

August 6, 2019, 8:10 pm

Israel involved in US-led naval mission in Strait of Hormuz — foreign minister

Israel Katz quoted telling Knesset committee that Israeli participation helping counter Iran, boost ties with Gulf states

By TOI staff and Agencies

Illustrative: The guided-missile cruiser USS Cape St. George and the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln transit the Strait of Hormuz. (CC-BY SA 3.0/Official US Navy Imagery)

August 5, 2019, 10:54 pm

UK joins US in Gulf mission after Iran taunts American allies

After Tehran says countries too ‘ashamed’ to join US-led naval coalition, British PM deploys ships to Strait of Hormuz to protect vessels from ‘unlawful threats’

By Joe JACKSON and Amir Havasi

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks at a high level political forum on sustainable development on July 17, 2019, at UN Headquarters in New York. (Kena Betancur/AFP)

August 5, 2019, 11:56 am

Iran celebrates US’s struggles to build maritime coalition

Foreign minister says Tehran can ensure security for shipping, blasts American ‘economic terrorism’

By TOI staff and AP

Australia's Foreign Minister Marise Payne (R) attends a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L), US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Australia's Defense Minister Linda Reynolds (not in picture) in Sydney on August 4, 2019. (Saeed KHAN / AFP)

August 4, 2019, 11:58 pm

US struggles to build willing coalition amid Strait of Hormuz tensions

Australia becomes latest country to keep distance from international force to protect oil tankers from Iranian intervention, but Washington still adamant plan will work

By Sylvie LANTEAUME

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper, left, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, second left, and Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne brief the media at a press conference following annual bilateral talks in Sydney, Australia, Aug. 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

August 4, 2019, 1:33 pm

US still seeking allies for maritime coalition against Iranian threats

In Australia, Esper and Pompeo suggest nations are quietly expressing support for plan; counterparts in Melbourne won’t commit

By Lolita C. Baldor

An Iranian Revolutionary Guard speedboat maneuvers in the Persian Gulf while an oil tanker is seen in background, July 2, 2012. (Vahid Salemi/AP)

July 31, 2019, 6:08 pm

Iran says Europe ‘obliged’ to let it sell and ship oil

FM Zarif claims increased tensions are ‘due to America’s economic terrorism and Europe’s inability to fulfill its commitments’

By AFP

In this July 21, 2019 photo, a speedboat of the Iran's Revolutionary Guard moves around a British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero which was seized in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday by the Guard, in the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. (Morteza Akhoondi/Mehr News Agency via AP)

July 31, 2019, 6:08 pm

UAE, Iran hold rare talks in Tehran on maritime security

In six-year first, regional rivals meet in effort to boost security cooperation, amid a spike in tensions in the Persian Gulf

By Amir Vahdat and Aya Batrawy