This picture shows ships sailing near the Strait of Hormuz off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates at Khor Fakkan on July 13, 2026.
AFP | Getty Images
Abu Dhabi’s National Oil Company (ADNOC) said one of its vessels was targeted by a missile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz in the early hours of Saturday, as Iran’s military stressed that the crucial waterway would only be reopened when the U.S. accepts Iran’s conditions.
“The incident resulted in no injuries, and the situation has been brought under control,” ADNOC said in a statement.
The United Arab Emirates, of which Abu Dhabi is the capital, said in a post on X that it “condemns in the strongest terms the targeting of an ADNOC-affiliated tanker while it was passing through the Strait of Hormuz.”
Tehran’s ability to effectively close the strait — an open, untolled international waterway before the U.S.-Iran war started on Feb. 28 — has triggered a global energy supply shock that has driven up gas prices, exacerbated inflation and raised alarms about oil reserves.
Oil prices rose Friday as investors waited for an agreement teased by the Trump administration earlier this week to open the strait to freedom of navigation.
“The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is subject to the specific mechanism and conditions of the Islamic Republic of Iran and has nothing to do with the negotiations between Iran and Oman,” Sardar Mohbi, a spokesman for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said in a statement on Telegram translated by Google.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Tuesday that an agreement to open Hormuz with freedom of movement could come as soon as Wednesday. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had also indicated that an agreement was imminent.
But a deal still has not been announced yet. Meanwhile, ship traffic through Hormuz was down 33% on Friday compared to the day prior, with most vessels using the Iranian route, according to the trade intelligence firm Kpler.
Iran and Oman are working on an agreement to define transit routes through the strait, according to media reports. Inbound traffic would transit Iranian waters while outbound traffic would go through Omani waters.
But Iranian state media published a draft plan Thursday that would restrict traffic through Hormuz. The plan is under review by Iran’s parliament, according to the state outlet Fars.
Under the draft plan, Iran would ban U.S. and Israeli ships from transiting the Strait. Other nations that have harmed Iran would not be allowed to transit until compensation is paid, according to the draft.
Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, gained more than 1% to close at $83.55 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate advanced about 1% to settle at $78.18 per barrel. Prices fell more than 7% for the week.
A brief hiatus in fighting between the U.S. and Iran after a June 17 memorandum of understanding was followed by weeks of attacks and counterstrikes between the U.S. and Iran, with Tehran targeting several of its Gulf neighbors with missiles and drones.
On Thursday, Iran’s chief negotiator accused Trump of staging “theater diplomacy,” as Washington and Tehran offered conflicting accounts of bilateral engagement aimed at ending their monthslong hostilities.
“‘Massive attack coming … wait, never mind, they want to negotiate.’ That’s theater diplomacy on loop,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker and top negotiator, wrote in a post on X on Thursday in an apparent gibe at Trump.
The remarks came days after Trump called off planned strikes and said the outlines of a deal had already been settled with Tehran. Iranian officials have rejected the claim, saying no talks were underway.
The conflict is meanwhile broadening across the region, with Gulf energy infrastructure and key shipping choke points under renewed threat.
— Anniek Bao, Kevin Breuninger, Emma Graham, Spencer Kimball and Justina Lee contributed to this story.
