TEHRAN, JUL 17: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted a Thai-flagged vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, citing the ship’s failure to seek permission from IRGC naval forces before attempting to transit the waterway.

According to Tasnim, the vessel ignored repeated warnings from IRGC naval units before it was targeted. No further details on the vessel’s name, cargo, or the condition of its crew have been independently confirmed at this time.

The incident is the latest in a string of confrontations in the Strait of Hormuz since Iran’s war with the US and Israel began in February 2026. The IRGC has repeatedly insisted that all vessels — commercial or otherwise — must obtain its permission before transiting the strait, and has fired on, boarded, or seized multiple ships this year for allegedly failing to comply, including previous incidents involving other Thai-, Liberian-, and Portuguese-flagged vessels.

As of this week, Iran had again declared the strait closed “until further notice,” though the US and shipping trackers dispute that the waterway is fully shut, reporting a sharp decline — but not a total halt — in transits. Tensions have escalated further in recent days, with the US resuming strikes on Iranian military and IRGC maritime targets and reinstating a naval blockade of Iranian ports on July 14 after the collapse of a brief June ceasefire.