Hormuz | Pakistan

GWADAR: Amid rising tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic importance of Gwadar Port has significantly increased due to its shorter access routes to Iran and Central Asia, along with investor-friendly incentives such as tax exemptions, free storage facilities, and modern infrastructure. This was stated by Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) Chairman Noorul Haq Baloch during a meeting with members of the All Pakistan Shipping Association (APSA) in Karachi. He said the port is increasingly being viewed as a safe alternative trade gateway for the region. He said Gwadar has the potential to become the future hub of regional trade and logistics because of its low operational costs, modern facilities, and shorter trade routes. He added that the Gabd-Rimdan border route has emerged as an effective multi-modal corridor for promoting trade with Iran and Central Asia. Mr Baloch briefed the APSA members on the prevailing regional situation, the strategic significance of Gwadar Port, and issues related to transit and tr...

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump’s decision to pause a US operation to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz reportedly followed pressure from Saudi Arabia, according to an NBC News report citing two US officials. The operation, dubbed Project Freedom, was unexpectedly announced by Trump on social media on Sunday and began on Monday. However, US allies in the Gulf were reportedly surprised by the announcement. According to the officials, Saudi Arabia — one of Washington’s key regional partners— subsequently suspended the US military’s access to its bases and airspace needed to support the mission. “Trump surprised Gulf allies by announcing ‘Project Freedom’ on social media Sunday afternoon, the officials said, angering leadership in Saudi Arabia,” NBC News reported. “In response, the Kingdom informed the US it would not allow the US military to fly aircraft from Prince Sultan Airbase southeast of Riyadh or fly through Saudi airspace to support the effort.” Riyadh rejects media report on Tr...

United States President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would briefly pause an operation to help escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, citing “great progress” toward a comprehensive agreement with Iran. Hours earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had outlined the effort that began on Monday to escort stranded tankers out of the Gulf. The strait has been virtually shut since the conflict began, blocking some 20 per cent of world oil supplies and igniting a global energy crisis. “Based on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran, we have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized...

Opec+ agreed on Sunday on a modest oil output hike for June, an increase that will remain largely on paper as long as the US-Israeli war on Iran continues to disrupt Gulf oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. Seven Opec+ countries will raise oil output targets by 188,000 barrels per day in June, the third consecutive monthly increase, Opec+ said in a statement after an online meeting. The increase is the same as that agreed for May minus the share of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which left the group on May 1. The move is designed to show the group is ready to raise supplies once the war stops and signals that Opec+ is pressing on with a business-as-usual approach despite the departure of the UAE from Opec+, sources associated with the alliance and analysts said. Opec+ is sending a two-layer message to the market: continuity despite the UAE’s exit, and control despite limited physical impact, said Jorge Leon, an analyst at Rystad and former Opec official. While output is increasing on paper, the real i...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has notified six routes for the transportation of goods to Iran against an encashable bank guarantee amid reports that thousands of containers destined for Iran are awaiting clearance at Pakistani ports. For this to come into force, the Ministry of Commerce has issued a statutory regulatory order, Transit of Goods through Territory of Pakistan Order 2026. According to the order, following routes have been designated for the transit of goods: Gwadar-Gabd Karachi/ Port Qasim-Lyari-Ormara-Pasni-Gabd Karachi/ Port Qasim- Khuzdar-Dalbandin-Taftan Gawadar-Turbat-Hoshab-Panjgur-Nagg-Besima-Khuzdar-Quetta/ Lakpass-Dalbandin-Nokundi-Taftan Gwadar-Liari-Khuzdar-Quetta/ Lakpass-Dalbandin-Nokundi-Taftan Karachi/ Port Qasim -Gwadar- Gabd Meanwhile, it has been reported that more than 3,000 containers destined for Iran have been stuck at the Karachi port for the past few days. This has been reported as the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz — which was the route for one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas su...

• Iran asks US to lift blockade, warns of response if ‘piracy’ continues • Macron wants full reopening of strait in ‘coming days and weeks’ • Turkiye, Germany agree to de-mining missions TEHRAN/ANKARA: As a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by the US and Iran led to energy shortages, efforts were afoot to restore freedom of navigation in the vital maritime route, with multiple countries offering to de-mine the strait once peace was restored. After the US and Israel attacked Iran on Feb 28, Tehran responded by shutting down the strait and later announced it would charge vessels using the maritime route. The US earlier this month blockaded Iranian ports to stop its oil exports and returned over 30 ships leaving Iranian ports. Despite an extension in a recent ceasefire between the two, Hormuz remained a flashpoint, proving a major hurdle in the resumption of talks. Iran’s military said it would respond if the US maintained its blockade of Iranian ports, calling it “banditry” and “piracy”. In a statement carried b...

ISLAMABAD: State-run Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) has approved a revised bid of $18.4 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) from TotalEnergies for delivery between April 27 and 30, while rejecting all other bids, it emerged on Saturday. TotalEnergies had initially bid $18.88 per mmBtu but later revised its offer downward to $18.4 following negotiations. After internal consultations, the authorities rejected all other bids for the first half of May, anticipating the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. On Friday, PLL had received four bids at $17.997 to $18.88 per mmBtu for delivery between April 27 and May 8. A total of four bids were received from three bidders, and three were declared the lowest. Vitol Bahrain’s bid of $18.54 per mmBtu was declared the lowest for the May 1–7 delivery window, while OQ Trading was the lowest bidder at $17.997 per mmBtu for the May 8–14 period. However, both bids were rejected. PLL had on Thursday floated urgent tenders for the import of three LNG cargoes for delivery between ...

ISLAMABAD: Police have arrested a citizen for allegedly mocking and likening the Tarnol Railway crossing to the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route, has been virtually paralysed by the Middle East war. The first information report (FIR), a copy of which is available with Dawn, has been registered on the complaint of Sub-inspector Shahid Asghar on the state’s behalf. The FIR was registered under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant), Section 341 (punishment for wrongful restrains) and Section 511 (punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or for a shorter term) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). According to the complaint, a man identified as Khurram was accused of sharing a post on social media, saying, “Tarnol Railway Crossing is no less than the Strait of Hormuz. If it is closed, all our problems will be resolved”. It said that the citizen was taken into custody and his phone was also checked, wherein evi...

• US president says in no hurry to end war, claims ‘total control’ over strait, orders navy to destroy all mine-laying vessels • Another Iranian tanker seized in Indian Ocean as country banks first proceeds from Hormuz tolls • Tehran air defence activated overnight • Third aircraft carrier arrives in Mideast • Pentagon fires navy secretary • Move seeking to curb Trump’s war powers defeated in Congress WASHINGTON: Bac­ked by Republican allies in Congress, President Don­ald Trump on Thursday ordered the US Navy to target and destroy any vessel laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, as US forces boarded a vessel transporting oil from Iran in the Indian Ocean. In subsequent remarks, he also ruled out the use of nuclear weapons against Iran, adding that while the US is in no rush to end the war, “the clock is ticking” for the Islamic republic. Despite an indefinite exte­nsion in the ceasefire by the US, there has been no progress regarding the second round of peace talks between the two countries, with Tehran sayin...

ISLAMABAD: Despite the volatile situation in the Strait of Hormuz, shipping movement rem­ains normal in Pakistan, and oil tankers continue to arrive in the country bringing fuel supplies. After discharging crude oil brought from Fujairah, UAE, the marine tanker (MT) Sargodha, owned by the Pakistan National Shipping Company (PNSC), at Karachi port, two more are expected to berth, bringing petroleum fuel. The three tankers expected to berth at Karachi port include MT Shalimar and MT Lahore, both belonging to the PNSC, to discharge crude oil. Meanwhile, MT Martini is expected to berth at Karachi port on Monday evening (today) for the loading of surplus ‘fuel oil’ produced in Pakistan. Three PNSC tankers carrying crude likely to dock today Fuel oil is a liquid petroleum by-product derived from crude oil distillation, consisting of long-chain hydrocarbons used primarily for heating, power generation, and marine engines. Other tankers, including MT Hafnia Henriette and MT Wan HE, have berthed at Karachi port to loa...

New Delhi on Saturday summoned Iran’s ambassador to convey the country’s “deep concern” after two Indian-flagged vessels were shot at near the Strait of Hormuz, India’s foreign ministry said. In a statement, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Iran’s Ambassador to India Dr Mohammad Fathali was summoned “for a meeting with [the] foreign secretary this evening”. During the meeting, the foreign secretary “conveyed India’s deep concern at the shooting incident earlier today involving two Indian-flagged ships in the Strait of Hormuz”, the MEA said. “He noted the importance that India attached to the safety of merchant shipping and mariners and recalled that Iran had earlier facilitated the safe passage of several ships bound for India.” Reiterating his concern at “this serious incident of firing on merchant ships”, the foreign secretary urged the ambassador to convey India’s views to the authorities in Iran and “resume at the earliest the process of facilitating India-bound ships across the strait”. Th...

A handful of oil and gas tankers crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday during a brief reopening, tracking data showed, but others retreated and two were reportedly attacked as Iran closed the route again. The toing and froing over the strait cast doubt on US President Donald Trump’s optimism the day before, that a peace deal to end the US-Israeli war with Iran was “very close”. Iran reversed its pledge to reopen the strait to commercial traffic during a ceasefire in the war to protest an ongoing US counter-blockade of the route, a crucial passage for commodity shipments. During the reopening, at least eight oil and gas tankers crossed the strait early on Saturday after the Iranian announcement on Friday afternoon, data from tracking firm Kpler indicated. However, tracking platform MarineTraffic showed several other crude oil tankers approached the strait but then turned back near Iran’s Larak Island, a checkpoint for vessels seeking to exit the Gulf under Iranian forces’ blockade of the passage. Screengrab...

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz, vital for the global trade in oil and other commodities, was open following a ceasefire accord agreed in Lebanon. Araqchi said in a post on X that the Strait was open for all commercial vessels for the “remaining period of ceasefire”. It was not immediately clear whether he was speaking of the 10-day truce agreed by Lebanon and Israel that went into effect at midnight or an earlier two-week truce between Iran and the United States that began on April 8. He said the passage of ships would need to be along the route that Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organisation had announced. US President Donald Trump welcomed Iran’s announcement. “THANK YOU!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform, before going on a posting spree. In a separate post, he said that the US military blockade of ships sailing through the Strait to Iranian ports — announced after talks with Iran last weekend in Islamabad ended without a breakthrough — remained in place. “T...

A Pakistani-flagged oil tanker, MT Shalamar, has successfully completed a rare transit through the Strait of Hormuz with a crude oil cargo amid ongoing maritime tensions and restrictions in the region, according to international shipping data.

A Pakistan-flagged tanker has become the first crude carrier to exit through the Strait of Hormuz with a cargo since a US blockade began earlier this week, in a rare passage that underlines how restricted traffic remains through the vital chokepoint.

Pakistan has called for the immediate restoration of normal shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, warning at the United Nations that ongoing disruptions are affecting global trade, energy supplies and vulnerable populations.

On Sunday, President Donald Trump stepped in to raise the stakes of an already volatile standoff, announcing that the United States Navy would begin “BLOCKADING” the Strait of Hormuz — delivered, in classic Trump fashion, the emphatic all-caps. The deadline passed at 7pm (PST) on Monday. The developments came after a night of diplomacy in Islamabad that promised more than it delivered, with inconclusive takeaways and very little to show for 21 hours of deliberations. The negotiations ended with a terse briefing from JD Vance, confirming what everyone had been hoping to avoid: nothing had been agreed. Judging from the string of off-the-cuff, rhetorically charged posts on Trump’s Truth Social feed, he appears to have revived what once again looks like the ‘madman theory’ — using brinkmanship and unpredictability as a strategic bargaining chip. He seems to be signalling that if Iran can rattle markets by blocking one of the world’s primary energy arteries, Washington can rattle them harder. The rationale is pret...

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said on Sunday that any military vessels attempting to approach the Strait of Hormuz would be considered a violation of the two-week ceasefire with the US, and warned that it would be dealt with harshly and decisively. “The strait is under the control and smart management of Iran’s Navy,” the Guards said in a statement reported by Iranian state media, adding it is “open for the safe passage of non-military vessels in accordance with specific regulations”. The IRGC has also warned that enemies would be trapped in its “deadly vortex” in case of any miscalculation. “All traffic … is under the full control of the armed forces,” the Guards naval command said in a Persian language post on X. “The enemy will become trapped in a deadly vortex in the strait if it makes the wrong move,” it added, posting a video showing vessels in crosshairs. The IRGC’s warning came after US President Donald Trump, in a surprise announcement, said the United States Navy would begin the p...

Iran denies US claim of 'clearing out' Strait of Hormuz

Two US Navy warships transited the Strait of Hormuz at the start of an operation to clear the strategic waterway of mines laid by Iran, US Central Command (Centcom) said on Saturday. The announcement — which marks the first such transit since the US-Israeli war on Iran began — came shortly after President Donald Trump said Washington had started “clearing out” the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil passes. “Today, we began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon to encourage the free flow of commerce,” said Centcom commander Admiral Brad Cooper. The USS Frank E Peterson and the USS Michael Murphy are the guided-missile destroyers involved in the operation, but Centcom said that “additional US forces including underwater drones” could join the effort in coming days. Earlier, US media outlet Axios reported that the operation was not coordinated with authorities in Tehran. “We’re now starting the process of clearing out the...