The United Nations has paused the evacuation of commercial vessels from the Strait of Hormuz, after an IRGC drone struck the Evergreen container ship Ever Lovely near Oman, according to reports Friday. The move halts the UN operation launched Wednesday, amid heightened fears of further strikes.
The United Nations has suspended its evacuation of commercial vessels from the Strait of Hormuz after an IRGC drone struck the container ship Ever Lovely near Oman on Friday. The strike, which hit the Evergreen vessel, prompted the UN to halt the operation it had launched Wednesday. The exact spelling of the ship's name — "Ever Lovely" rather than "Ever Love" as initially reported — was confirmed in later updates.
The suspension was first reported by The Zioneer at 22:08 Thursday Jerusalem time, when the UN paused its escort mission after the drone strike. An earlier report at 09:23 Friday cited an Iranian source confirming the strike was meant to reassert IRGC control after Oman permitted alternative shipping routes without Iranian coordination. A subsequent report at 10:17 Friday attributed the same account to an Iranian source speaking to The New York Times. The struck vessel was initially identified as "Evergreen Ever Love" and later corrected to "Ever Lovely."
The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of global oil passes, has been effectively closed by the IRGC since last month following Iran's World Cup disqualification, as The Zioneer reported on June 22. The UN evacuation operation, launched June 24, was the first international effort to clear the waterway.
It remains unclear when — or if — the evacuation will resume. The precise extent of damage to the Ever Lovely and whether any crew were harmed has not been independently confirmed.
3 developments
- DevelopingUN begins evacuation of ships from Strait of Hormuz
- StrongIranian source tells NYT: Drone struck vessel in Strait of Hormuz after Oman opened alternative route
- DevelopingCargo ship reportedly struck by Iranian drone in Strait of Hormuz, official tells CNN
- ConfirmedCENTCOM intercepts Iranian suicide drones targeting commercial ships in Strait of Hormuz
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