CENTCOM says 109 commercial vessels redirected under Iran blockade

The Netherlands will send a minesweeper to the Mediterranean as part of NATO operations, allowing possible rapid deployment to the Strait of Hormuz if a mission is agreed after the Iran war ends, Reuters reported, citing Dutch ministers.

In a letter to parliament, Defense Minister Dilan Yesilgöz and Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said the vessel would depart this week and could join NATO’s standing mine countermeasures group from mid-June.

They said preparations were underway for a possible Dutch role in securing safe shipping routes in the Persian Gulf region.

NATO chief Mark Rutte has said several countries are pre-positioning logistical support, minehunters and minesweepers near the Persian Gulf to be ready for any possible Hormuz mission.

The Dutch letter said one option would be to deploy a combined team for search, diving and explosive ordnance disposal, while the Netherlands is also assessing whether it could contribute staff to an international coalition.

Iran’s internet connectivity has been in a state of restoration for 24 hours, but service remains heavily filtered, internet monitor NetBlocks said.

NetBlocks said new restrictions on messaging services and app stores were in place compared with conditions before January.

“Calls for a free and open internet transcend political divisions and should be heard,” the monitor said.

The update follows NetBlocks’ earlier report that Iran had begun a partial restoration after more than 2,000 hours of digital isolation, with mobile networks and other segments being reconnected while filtering remained in place.

Iranian lawmaker Mohsen Zanganeh said Tehran is not negotiating with the United States over the principle of uranium enrichment, but is discussing details such as possible limits on enrichment levels.

“We do not talk about the principle of enrichment, but we do talk about details, such as the enrichment percentage, which they believe should be limited,” said Zanganeh, a member of parliament’s Planning and Budget Committee.

Zanganeh said the negotiations were proceeding in full coordination with Iran’s Supreme Leader.

“What is happening is in complete coordination with the leadership, and soon, probably on Eid al-Ghadir in early June, we will celebrate the Islamic Republic’s victory,” he said.

Iranian state TV said Tehran had obtained a draft of an initial unofficial framework for a memorandum of understanding with the United States that would reopen commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and end the US naval blockade.

According to the state TV, under the reported framework, the United States would withdraw military forces from Iran’s vicinity and lift the blockade, while Iran would restore the number of commercial transit ships through the Strait of Hormuz to pre-war levels within one month.

Iranian state TV said military vessels were not included in the draft agreement.

It said the management and routing of ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz would be handled by Iran in cooperation with Oman.

The report said that if a final deal is reached within 60 days, the arrangement would be approved as a binding UN Security Council resolution.

Iranian state TV described the so-called Islamabad memorandum framework as not yet finalized and said Tehran would take no step without tangible verification.

Israel’s air force commander, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, said Iran had faced firepower it “neither knew nor expected” during the recent US-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic.

Speaking Wednesday at a ceremony unveiling Israel’s new KC-46 “Gideon” refueling aircraft, Bar said the Iranian leadership, which he said had set the destruction of Israel as its goal, was unable to stop the air campaign.

Bar said the Israeli air force was still conducting operations, including strikes against Hezbollah, defending residents of northern Israel and operating in Gaza against Hamas.

“We are ready for any development, on any front,” he said.