Hormuz open to ships cooperating with Iran, FM says

A vessel at anchor has been taken over by unauthorized personnel and is now heading toward Iranian territorial waters after an incident northeast of the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said on Thursday.

UKMTO said it received a report of an incident 38 nautical miles northeast of Fujairah in the UAE and that the vessel was subsequently taken and redirected toward Iranian territorial waters.

The agency did not identify the vessel or say who may have taken control.

Iranian judicial authorities have ordered the seizure of assets belonging to dozens of people, many living abroad, over allegations of cooperation with Israel and actions against national security, state-linked news agency ANA reported on Thursday.

ANA, citing judicial authorities, said the move was taken under a law increasing penalties for alleged espionage and cooperation with Israel. It said confiscated assets would be used to rebuild sites damaged during the war.

The report said cases involving the individuals were under review and that those targeted included people residing in Britain, Germany, Iraq, Turkey and the United States, among other countries, as well as six people inside Iran.

Iran did not provide evidence supporting the allegations.

Two India-bound vessels carrying cooking fuel from the Persian Gulf appeared to have transited the Strait of Hormuz, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

One liquefied petroleum gas carrier, Symi, emerged in the Gulf of Oman after turning off its transponder, while another, NV Sunshine, went dark shortly after passing through the strait, the report said.

The passages brought to nine the number of large vessels carrying oil, fuel and gas that have crossed Hormuz since Sunday, an increase from recent weeks as negotiations to end the war remain deadlocked, according to the report.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged BRICS members on Thursday to explicitly condemn what he called US and Israeli violations of international law, including attacks on Iran.

“Iran calls on BRICS member states and all responsible members of the international community to explicitly condemn violations of international law by the United States and Israel, including their illegal aggression against Iran,” Araghchi told a BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Wednesday that Iran was “frighteningly close” to constructing nuclear weapons, telling lawmakers Tehran was weeks away from enriching one ton of uranium to weapons-grade levels.

“They are weeks, a small number of weeks away to enrich that to weapons-grade uranium,” Wright told the Senate Armed Services Committee. “There’s still a weaponization process that happens after that, but they’re quite close to constructing nuclear weapons.”

Wright said Iran also had uranium enriched up to 60%, as well as “a lot of” 20% enriched uranium, which he called “very concerning.”

Asked whether US President Donald Trump would need to target all of Iran’s uranium stockpiles to stop enrichment, Wright said, “I think that’s the wise strategy.”

“Ultimately, the goal is to prevent future enrichment of uranium as well. Yes, to have a safe world, we need to end their nuclear program,” he added.