Australia to join France, UK-led mission to secure Strait of Hormuz shipping

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Iran said on Tuesday a suspected oil spill near Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf was likely caused by a tanker discharging contaminated ballast water, rejecting claims it came from its oil facilities, Reuters reported.

Vice-President Shina Ansari said monitoring pointed to a non-Iranian tanker as the source, while Iran’s Oil Terminals Company said inspections found no evidence of leaks from pipelines, storage tanks or loading infrastructure, the report added.

Satellite images showed a grey and white slick spreading across dozens of square kilometers near Iran’s main oil export hub.

Maritime tracking group Tanker Trackers said the explanation “seems very plausible,” adding that the vessel in question had previously been seized by Iran.

Senate Republicans said Democrats “sent pallets of cash to Iran” while the Islamic Republic built missiles, in a post on X that criticized past US policy toward Tehran.

"Democrats sent pallets of cash to Iran while the regime built missiles to threaten our allies. Until Iran abandons nuclear ambitions, President Trump is using American strength to starve the terror machine," the post said.

US intelligence assessments indicate Iran still retains a substantial ballistic missile capability despite months of US and Israeli strikes, according to a report by The New York Times.

The report said Iran is believed to have preserved a significant portion of its missile forces, even after sustained military operations targeting its infrastructure.

US officials assessed that while parts of Iran’s missile production and launch network have been damaged, the country continues to maintain a sizeable operational arsenal and production capacity.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said on Tuesday Iran is threatening international shipping after an Iranian lawmaker warned of “severe consequences” for countries backing a US-backed UN Security Council resolution.

"It’s no surprise that Iran – out in the open – is threatening its neighbors and admitting they will continue to mine international waters and attack commercial vessels from all over the world in the hopes of causing economic devastation. All because we are choosing diplomacy in the UN Security Council. This tweet from a regime official proves why this Resolution is needed and why Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon," Waltz posted on X.

Iran has not successfully exported crude oil by sea for the past 28 days, according to maritime analytics group Tanker Trackers, which cited vessel tracking data and its definition of exports involving tankers crossing beyond a monitored naval blockade line.

The group said some refined petroleum products had still been exported, which it attributed to a lack of sanctions by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on certain tankers involved in those shipments.

The monitoring group added that multiple tankers remain idle or positioned both inside and outside what it described as a blockade perimeter, while others carrying cargo were clustered not far from Pakistan.