US President Donald Trump has announced that he is cancelling planned military strikes against Iran, saying significant progress in negotiations has created an opportunity for a broader agreement aimed at easing tensions in the Middle East.
The International Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners (Intercargo) warned that attacks on merchant vessels have increased in recent months and called upon governments and parties to armed conflicts to take concrete steps to halt such attacks and ensure the safety of their crews.
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the interim agreement between the United States and Iran aimed at ending weeks of hostilities was effectively "over," following a sharp escalation in military exchanges across the Gulf that has further rattled global energy markets and disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Attacks on commercial shipping resumed in the Strait of Hormuz, with two vessels struck in separate incidents that have heightened fears over the security of the shipping lane and threatened to derail recent diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions.
The United States launched a heavy wave of airstrikes against Iran late on Wednesday, marking the most significant direct attack on Iranian territory in days and sharply escalating a conflict that is increasingly threatening regional security, global energy supplies and international shipping.
The Middle East conflict entered a new phase over the weekend as the United States paused its bombing campaign against Iran after 13 consecutive nights of strikes, while violence shifted to the Red Sea where Iran-backed Houthi rebels targeted Saudi commercial assets, prompting retaliatory military action by Saudi Arabia.
The United States and Iran exchanged a fresh wave of military strikes for a sixth consecutive night, deepening fears of a wider regional conflict as Tehran prepared to expand its pressure on global energy supplies by threatening to shut another critical maritime chokepoint at the entrance to the Red Sea.
The General Command of the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) said that its air defence systems successfully intercepted and destroyed several treacherous Iranian aerial attacks on Friday.
The United States intensified its military campaign against Iran on Tuesday, reimposing a naval blockade of Iranian ports, launching another wave of strikes on military targets and warning of attacks on key infrastructure unless Tehran returns to negotiations.
Oil prices jumped sharply at the start of Asian trading on Monday after the United States launched a second consecutive night of strikes on Iranian military targets and Tehran retaliated with fresh attacks, heightening fears of disruption to crude shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important oil transit chokepoint.
