Top updates: Trump says US Navy to escort oil tankers in Gulf, Iran claims control of Hormuz strait

United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he has ordered the US International Development Finance Corporation to provide political risk insurance and ‌financial guarantees for maritime trade in the Gulf amid the conflict in West Asia.

The US Navy will escort oil tankers in through the Strait of Hormuz, he added.

The announcements are viewed as a significant step by Washington to contain soaring energy prices amid the conflict that has increased risks to shipping through the strategic waterways.

Global crude prices have spiked since the conflict began on Saturday when Israel and the US launched a joint military operation targeting the Iranian government and Tehran retaliated.

Here’s more on this and other top updates from the conflict in West Asia:

• On Wednesday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed that they had “complete control” of the Strait of Hormuz, reported AFP. Any vessels seeking to pass through the route risk being hit by missiles or stray drones, said Guards Navy officer Mohammad Akbarzadeh. The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterbody that connects the Gulf to the Arabian Sea.
• Trump had said on Tuesday that “if necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible”. The US will ensure the free flow of energy to the world “no matter what”, he added. More measures were ​coming, Trump said on social media.
• On Wednesday, the US Department of State ordered non-emergency government employees and family members of its personnel at the consulates in Lahore and Karachi to leave Pakistan citing safety risks. There is no change in the status of the US embassy in Islamabad.
• The Indian government on Tuesday said that airlines plan to operate 58 flights to West Asia on Wednesday after adjusting their schedules amid the crisis. “Special arrangements are being made to facilitate the movement of stranded passengers, with airlines deploying additional capacity where required and coordinating closely with foreign aviation authorities and Indian missions abroad to ensure safe and orderly passenger movement,” the Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement.
• New Delhi said that 24 flights were operated by Indian carriers on Tuesday. “In addition, Emirates and Etihad have operated 9 flights from the Gulf in the last 24 hours,” it added. The ministry said that it was in continuous touch with airlines and closely monitoring airfares to ensure that there was no undue surge in ticket prices during this period.
• The Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday set up a control room for Indians in the region.
• The authorities in Dubai on Tuesday said that a drone attack caused a fire near the US consulate, adding that it was contained and no injuries were reported. This came after the Saudi Arabian government on Tuesday said that the US embassy in Riyadh was struck by two drones that caused a “limited fire”.

Trump’s announcement about providing insurance and security to the ships in the Gulf came after Iran on Monday claimed that the Strait of Hormuz was “closed” for shipping traffic, warning that any vessel attempting to pass through the strategic waterway would be set on fire.

The US International Development Finance Corporation, which Trump has tapped to provide the insurance, was launched in 2019. It is a US government agency that partners with private investors to support projects in developing countries.

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The conflict

On Saturday, Israel and the US launched a joint operation to “degrade the capabilities” of the Iranian government.

The attacks came amid tensions between the three countries over Tehran’s nuclear programme. Washington acts as a guarantor of Israel’s security. Israel has been claiming that Iran is close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, which could alter the regional security balance.

Tehran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.

Iran retaliated by striking Israel and US military bases in the region, and targeted major cities in other Gulf countries and some ships.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the attacks on Saturday.

The killing of Khamenei, a significant figure among Shia Muslims globally, further escalated an already volatile situation in the region. He had controlled all branches of the Iranian government and the armed forces since 1989.

After Khamenei’s killing, senior Iranian cleric Alireza Arafi was appointed to serve as part of Iran’s interim leadership.

On Tuesday, the Iranian Red Crescent said that 787 persons had been killed in the country since the US and Israel began attacking it.

Trump on Tuesday said it was “too late” for Iran to seek negotiations amid the escalating tensions in West Asia.

A day earlier, the US president had said that the attacks on Iran could extend longer than a month. He added that the war was going “substantially” ahead of schedule but that the US was equipped for a prolonged conflict.

On Monday, India’s Directorate General of Shipping confirmed that three Indian seafarers were killed and one was injured amid the conflict in West Asia. It did not provide details of the incidents but said that the four were working on board foreign-flagged vessels.

The tensions

The US has repeatedly demanded that Iran give up its nuclear programme, threatening that Tehran must meet its terms or face consequences.

Khamenei had warned on February 1 that an attack by the US would spark a “regional war”.

Israel had been preparing for a possible conflict with Iran for several weeks.

In June, Tehran and Tel Aviv agreed to a ceasefire after 12 days of hostilities.

At the time, the Israeli military had struck what it claimed were nuclear targets, and other sites, in Iran with the aim of stalling Tehran’s nuclear programme. Iran retaliated with missile attacks on Israel.

Both countries had later accused each other of violating the ceasefire.

The two countries had been nudged by the US to accept the ceasefire after Washington on June 22 joined Israel’s war against Iran. The US military had carried out what Trump had described as a “very successful attack” on Iranian nuclear sites in Fordo, Natanz and Esfahan.

While Trump had claimed at the time that Iran’s nuclear facilities had been “completely obliterated” in the attacks, Washington’s preliminary intelligence assessment had said that the strikes only set it back by a few months, and did not destroy its nuclear programme.

Trump’s fresh focus on Iran came after the US’ military operation in Venezuela. On January 3, the US military abducted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, for alleged drug trafficking.

Almost simultaneously, on December 28, protests erupted in Iran initially focused on discontent about rising inflation. However, they later expanded as demonstrations in more than 100 towns demanded an end to clerical rule.

More than 5,000 persons were killed in the crackdown on the protests, according to international rights groups.

Following this, Trump had announced that the US military was moving warships towards Iran “just in case” he wants to take action, saying that he was “watching them very closely”.