A commercial vessel was struck off the coast of Oman early on 12 July, forcing its crew to abandon ship and leaving one Indian national missing. The Cyprus-flagged container ship GFS Galaxy caught fire and sustained severe engine-room damage roughly nine nautical miles east of Musandam Governorate, according to Oman’s maritime security centre. Of the 24 crew, 23 were rescued by Omani forces – including ten of the eleven Indian seafarers on board – while one Indian, the third engineer, remains unaccounted for. India’s Ministry of External Affairs confirmed the rescue figures and condemned the attack, describing continuing assaults on merchant shipping in the region as “deeply worrisome”.

Viewed from Washington, the incident was a direct attack by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which US Central Command said “blatantly attacked” the vessel. The Pentagon responded with a third wave of strikes on more than 140 Iranian military targets – missile and drone sites, naval assets, and communications networks – adding to over 300 targets hit during the week. Tehran presented a different account: the IRGC Navy said it fired a warning shot at a ship that ignored repeated orders to use authorised corridors, then declared the Strait of Hormuz “closed until further notice” until US intervention in the region ends. Semi-official Iranian media reported that foreign interference was to blame for vessels using unauthorised routes.

Iran retaliated against the US strikes by launching missiles and drones toward American bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Qatari authorities intercepted incoming projectiles, but falling shrapnel injured three people, including a child. Jordan’s military reported that three Iranian missiles fell inside its territory without casualties. Against this backdrop, New Delhi reiterated its call for “immediate de-escalation of tensions” and urged the conclusion of diplomatic negotiations, insisting that attacks on civilian infrastructure and commercial shipping must cease and that freedom of navigation must be restored. Omani officials, meanwhile, confirmed they are coordinating search-and-rescue efforts and have proposed a dual-corridor plan to separate transits through Omani and Iranian territorial waters, though no final agreement is in place.

The exchange of fire imperils a fragile interim ceasefire reached in June between the US and Iran, which had halted fighting that erupted on 28 February with American-Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and the killing of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. For India, the attack follows a series of deadly incidents involving its nationals in the region: three Indian seafarers were killed when a US strike hit the tanker Settebello in June, and four were injured in an earlier assault on the Skylight off Musandam. Pakistan’s foreign minister, in a call with his Iranian counterpart, stressed that “dialogue and diplomacy” remain the only viable path to lasting peace. With the Strait of Hormuz – a conduit for a major share of global oil and gas – declared shut, and no breakthrough in sight, the dossier remains extremely volatile; no new negotiations have been scheduled.