Six Iranian military boats approached a U.S.-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, ordering it to shut down its engines and prepare to be towed, U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal. The vessel instead accelerated and managed to reach a nearby U.S. warship, which escorted it to safety.
The incident comes amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran, just days ahead of a planned round of sensitive negotiations scheduled to take place in Turkey.
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Archival: Iranian Revolutionary Guard speedboat in the Strait of Hormuz, 2023
(Photo: AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)
Separately, Reuters reported that the U.S. military shot down an Iranian drone that came dangerously close to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea.
Iranian state-affiliated outlet Fars News confirmed that naval units had intercepted a vessel, claiming it had entered Iranian territorial waters without authorization. The Iranian account disputed any hostile intent, stating: “There was no specific security incident. The vessel lacked legal clearance to be in the area and was warned to leave.”
Meanwhile, Fars also reported that the USS Abraham Lincoln and its strike group had “retreated 1,400 kilometers” from Iran’s southern port city of Chabahar. U.S. defense officials have not commented on the claim.
US President Donald Trump pushes Iran on deal
Tuesday’s maritime confrontations coincided with mounting diplomatic friction over the upcoming U.S.-Iran talks. According to the Wall Street Journal and Axios, Tehran has expressed reluctance to participate in the Istanbul meetings as scheduled and is pushing to relocate the talks to Oman. Iran is also seeking to hold bilateral negotiations with the U.S. only, without the participation of other Arab or Muslim nations.
The high-level meeting, still tentatively scheduled for Friday, is expected to include U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, as well as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Pakistan and Oman have reportedly been invited.
The talks are set to address two parallel tracks: Iran’s nuclear program and a broader regional file that includes U.S. demands to limit Tehran’s ballistic missile development and curb its support for proxy forces across the Middle East.
The Iranian leadership has maintained that it is only willing to discuss its nuclear program. President Masoud Pezeshkian said earlier this week that he had authorized preparations for negotiations “based on respect and wisdom,” but only in a climate free of threats and “unrealistic expectations.”
Despite expressed willingness on both sides, significant obstacles remain. Iran continues to reject U.S. demands to halt uranium enrichment and to surrender existing stockpiles. American officials, meanwhile, insist that any deal must include missile limitations and a halt to regional destabilization efforts.
Regional mediators say Iran fears Washington is using diplomacy to buy time before a potential strike. A prior round of talks had been scheduled for June but was derailed when Israel launched Operation Rising just days before the meetings were to begin, setting off a brief 12-day war.