UAE says one of its ships was targeted as U.S.-Iran tensions over Strait of Hormuz remain high

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.”

The reported attack comes as U.S. Vice President JD Vance, in an interview with Fox News on Saturday, said Iran and its Gulf neighbors, particularly Oman, have been discussing how to ensure the safe flow of traffic through the strait. Plans include a traffic scheme, demining the waterway, and a commitment from Iran not to fire on commercial vessels, he said.

“We don’t trust. We verify,” Vance said, adding that the U.S. would judge Iran by its actions rather than its words.

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.