Iran News

Windward is publishing daily intelligence reports on the crisis in the Gulf as the situation develops.The highlights of today's report are as follows:    Commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains extremely limited, with only three outbound crossings recorded on March 15 and no inbound transits.Maritime security risk across the Gulf remains high, with 20 confirmed incidents involving commercial vessels and offshore infrastructure recorded since the start of the Iran war.Kharg Island remains operational despite recent strikes…

Europe should keep an open mind on helping to ensure freedom of navigation for ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz even if the continent did not support the U.S.-Israeli decision to go to war with Iran, Denmark's foreign minister said on Monday.President Donald Trump said on Sunday his administration was talking to several countries about protecting ships in the waterway that Tehran has mostly blocked to oil tanker traffic."We must face the world as it is, not as we want it to be…

When Saudi Aramco told its oil buyers in a letter this week that it had no clear idea which port it would use for April exports, it laid bare a new reality: Iran, not the United States, holds the key to reopening the global energy market.The letter, sent to Saudi oil buyers around the world, said they might receive oil from the Red Sea, but they might still get it from the Gulf."I might as well call Iran to find out when this war ends so I can get my oil," one regular Saudi oil…

President Donald Trump said on Sunday his administration is talking to seven countries about helping to secure the Strait of Hormuz amid the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, calling on them to help protect ships in the vital waterway that Tehran has mostly blocked to oil tanker traffic.With the conflict creating turmoil across the Middle East and shaking up global energy markets in its third week, Trump insisted that nations relying heavily on oil from the Gulf have a responsibility to protect the strait."I'm demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory…

European Union foreign ministers will discuss on Monday bolstering a small naval mission in the Middle East but are not expected to decide on extending its role to the choked-off Strait of Hormuz, diplomats and officials say.The EU’s Aspides mission was established in 2024 to protect ships from attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebel group in the Red Sea. It currently has an Italian and a Greek ship under its direct command and can also call upon a French ship and another Italian vessel…

In separate ad hoc meetings of the Gas Coordination Group and the Oil Coordination Group held on March 12, the Commission and EU countries assessed the situation concerning the EU’s gas and oil security of supply in view of the continued disruptions in the Middle East. During the exchange, EU countries confirmed that they do not observe any security of supply risks at the moment. Oil stocks remain at a high level, gas storage filling levels in the EU remain stable.EU countries…

InterManager has expressed serious concern about the worsening security situation affecting commercial shipping in the Middle East Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.In light of the recent attacks on merchant vessels in the region, InterManager is urging ship managers, owners and operators to exercise extreme caution and carefully evaluate whether transit through the Strait of Hormuz is necessary at this time. The safety and wellbeing of seafarers must remain the overriding priority.InterManager…

U.S. officials responding to economic uncertainty over high oil prices predicted on Sunday that the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran would end within weeks and that a drop in energy costs would follow, despite Iran's assertion that it remains "stable and strong" and ready to defend itself.U.S. President Donald Trump threatened more strikes on Iran's main oil export hub Kharg Island over the weekend and said he was not ready to reach a deal to end the war which has shut off the vital Strait of Hormuz and shaken up global energy markets.Trump has said Iran wants to negotiate…

The United States issued a 30-day license for countries to buy Russian oil and petroleum products currently stranded at sea in what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said was a step to stabilize global energy markets roiled by the Iran war.The announcement comes a day after the U.S. Energy Department said that the U.S. would be releasing 172 million barrels of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve in an effort to curb sky-rocketing oil prices in the wake of the war in Iran.That…

The IMO has called an Extraordinary Council meeting to discuss situation in Middle East. The meeting will focus on the impact on shipping and seafarers in the Arabian Sea, the Sea of Oman and the Gulf region, particularly in and around the Strait of Hormuz.The session will be held on March 18 to 19 at the IMO headquarters in London, United Kingdom, to be chaired by Victor Jiménez of Spain.The Extraordinary Session (C/ES.36) is convened following requests from several Council Members.IMO…

The busiest U.S. container seaport in Los Angeles is mostly insulated from supply chain upheaval sparked by U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran that have spiraled into a regional conflict, its executive director Gene Seroka said on Thursday.The Iran war has snarled container shipping in the Middle East, sending up costs, stranding ships and cargoes, threatening fuel shortages and endangering vessels and the lives of seafarers."We, right now, don't see any of that congestion happening" on the lucrative transpacific ocean trade that is the lifeblood of the Port of Los Angeles…

The Trump administration is considering waiving the century-old Jones Act for a limited period to ensure energy and agricultural shipments can move freely between U.S. ports, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday, in a bid to combat Iran-related supply disruptions."In the interest of national defense, the White House is considering waiving the Jones Act for a limited period of time to ensure vital energy products and agricultural necessities are flowing freely to U.S.

Iran's U.N. Ambassador said on Thursday Tehran was not going to close the Strait of Hormuz, but added that it was Iran's right to preserve the security of the key shipping route.Amir Saeid Iravani made his comments to reporters at the United Nations when asked about remarks by new Iranian supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who said on Thursday that the "lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must continue to be used.""We are not going to close the Strait of Hormuz," Iravani said.

Explosive-laden Iranian boats appear to have attacked two fuel tankers in Iraqi waters, setting them ablaze and killing one crew member on Wednesday, after projectiles struck four vessels in Gulf waters, said port, maritime security and risk firms.The latest attacks on ships linked to the U.S. and Europe mark an escalation in the conflict between Iran and U.S.-Israeli forces, raising the number of ships struck in the region since fighting began to at least 16.Shipping in the Gulf and along the narrow Strait of Hormuz…

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has issued a statement saying it is closely monitoring the impact the current conflict in the Middle East is having on shipping conditions through the Strait of Hormuz.Under its statutory authority, the Commission ensures that rates, charges, and rules that common carriers have implemented as a result of the threats to commercial shipping in the Strait and neighboring waters do not violate the Shipping Act.Commission regulations at 46 CFR…

Insurance giant Chubb will be the lead partner on the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation's $20 billion Maritime Reinsurance Plan aimed at resuming commercial shipping in the Gulf, the agency said on Wednesday.The U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran has widened sharply in recent days and paralyzed shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a major global chokepoint in the Gulf.Iran said the world should be prepared for oil to hit $200 a barrel as its forces attacked merchant ships on Wednesday in the blockaded Gulf. Meanwhile, U.S.

Two foreign tankers carrying Iraqi fuel oil were subjected to unidentified attacks inside territorial waters, causing them to catch fire, Iraq's director general of the General Company for Ports Farhan al-Fartousi told Reuters on Wednesday.Iraq evacuated the 25 crew members from the two vessels and fire is still ablaze on both ships, he added.This follows news that three vessels had been hit by unknown projectiles, with one of the strikes leading to a fire onboard a ship which forced most of its crew to evacuate it.Meanwhile…

The U.S. Navy has refused near-daily requests from the shipping industry for military escorts through the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war on Iran, saying the risk of attacks is too high for now, according to sources familiar with the matter.The Navy's assessments spell continued disruption to Middle East oil exports and reflect a divergence from President Donald Trump’s statements that the U.S. is prepared to provide naval escorts whenever needed to restart regular…

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to escalate the war with Iran if it blocked oil shipments from the Middle East, even as he predicted a quick end to the conflict.Trump's warning came at the end of a day that saw global financial markets seesawing on concerns that Iran's security establishment was rallying behind new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and was not prepared to back down any time soon.Trump said the United States had inflicted serious damage on Iran's air force and navy and predicted the conflict would end well before the initial four-week time frame he had laid out…

U.S. President Donald Trump is considering easing oil sanctions on Russia and releasing emergency crude stockpiles as part of a package of options aimed at curbing spiking global oil prices amid the Iran conflict, according to multiple sources.The deliberations reflect White House worries that the surge in oil prices following more than a week of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran will hurt U.S. businesses and consumers ahead of the November midterm elections, when Trump's fellow…

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said any Arab or European country that expels the ambassadors of Israel and the U.S.

France is deploying about a dozen naval vessels, including its aircraft carrier strike group, to the Mediterranean, Red Sea and potentially the Strait of Hormuz as part of defensive support to allies threatened by the conflict in the Middle East.Speaking in Cyprus before visiting the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, which arrived this weekend in the eastern Mediterranean, President Emmanuel Macron sought to reassure his Cypriot counterpart after drones were intercepted heading towards the island last week."When Cyprus is attacked…

Pakistan's navy has launched a maritime security operation to protect shipping lanes and energy supplies as regional tensions threaten key sea routes, the military said on Monday.The operation, named Muhafiz-ul-Bahr – meaning Protector of the Seas – aims to safeguard "lines of communication" at sea and ensure uninterrupted maritime trade and national energy supplies, the military's media wing said in a statement.