Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) says it has received a report of an "incident" involving a container ship and military forces in the Gulf of Oman.

"Vessels are advised to consider the latest maritime security information and maintain awareness of the evolving operational environment," UKMTO said in a statement on the report on August 11.

Reuters, quoting maritime security forces, said the vessel -- believed to be the Panama-flagged Vela Nova container ship -- was hit by a missile off the coast of Pakistan.

Ongoing disputes between the United States and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway that connects the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, have crippled maritime transit in the region.

Iran has shut down the critical waterway, crimping a major source of oil tanker traffic for global markets. Tehran has used the shutdown as an essential card in its negotiations with Washington. The US, in turn, has blockaded all vessels from heading to Iranian ports in and around the strait.

Although Trump initially said the elimination of Tehran's nuclear threat was the major aim of the US-Israeli war with Iran, which began on February 28, in recent weeks he has focused on the free flow of traffic through the important Strait of Hormuz, through which some 20 percent of the world's oil and natural gas supplies transited prewar.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-live-blog-trump-middle- east/33803414.html?lbis=468251