A French CMA CGM ship “was the subject of warning shots”
A CMA CGM ship “was the subject of warning shots yesterday (Saturday)” in the Strait of Hormuz, the French maritime transport group told AFP yesterday. Its “crew is safe and sound,” said the company based in Marseille, in the south of France, in a brief statement. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) for its part specified that the ship, a container ship, had been “damaged” on Saturday, without further details.
American President Donald Trump said earlier yesterday, on his Truth Social network, that Iranian shots had targeted a “French ship” as well as a British cargo ship. Commercial ships came under fire and threats from the Iranian military as they attempted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, with Iran once again closing the crucial trade route after a brief reopening.
Oil prices are rising again
After optimism about appeasement in the Middle East and the prospect of a resumption of talks between Washington and Tehran, which caused oil prices to fall last week, the situation drastically turned around this weekend. Oil prices soared again in Asian trade, with the barrel of WTI jumping by some 7%. Asian stock markets nevertheless progressed, but on a cautious note.
Around 00:45 GMT (2:45 a.m. Paris), the price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the benchmark for the American market, rose 7.39% to $90.05, while Brent from the North Sea, the world benchmark, gained 6.06% to $95.86.
While Donald Trump announced the seizure of an Iranian cargo ship, Tehran promises to “retaliate soon”
Iran promised this Monday to “respond soon” to the takeover by the American navy of one of its cargo ships which attempted to force the blockade of Iranian ports imposed by the United States. “The armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will respond soon and will take retaliatory measures against this act of armed piracy and against the American military,” the spokesperson for the Iranian general staff wrote on Telegram. He accused the United States of having “violated the two-week ceasefire” in force since April 8.
Yesterday, Donald Trump announced on his Truth Social network that the US Navy had fired on the Iranian-flagged cargo ship Touska, targeted by US Treasury sanctions, in the Arabian Sea and had taken control of it. Iran lifted its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, through which a fifth of world trade in oil and natural gas normally passes, but announced on Saturday that it would regain “strict control” of it, in the face of the United States’ decision to maintain its blockade of its ports. In a previous message on Sunday, Donald Trump had accused Tehran of having violated the ceasefire, which expires on Wednesday, by launching attacks on Saturday in the Strait of Hormuz, targeting in particular a French ship and another British one, according to him.
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