The UAE has accused Iran of firing two cruise missiles at a pair of its national oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, killing one crew member and injuring eight, in an escalation that has kept crude prices elevated and drawn fresh US military strikes on Iranian targets.

The vessels Mombasa and Al-Bahiyah were hit while transiting the southern shipping lane of the strait, inside Omani territorial waters, the UAE Ministry of Defence said. The dead crew member was an Indian national. Of the eight injured, four were seriously hurt; six were Indian nationals and two Ukrainian. Fires broke out on both tankers but have since been brought under control.

The defence ministry condemned what it called a serious breach of international law and said the state reserved the right to respond. In a separate statement, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the attack as an act of piracy and a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2817 on freedom of navigation, and called for the unconditional reopening of the strait.

Brent crude stood at $80.57 a barrel, up 0.9%, early on 14 July. Prices remain well above pre-war levels of about $72 a barrel. Shipping data from Kpler recorded just six vessels passing through the strait on Sunday, a five-week low, against 120-140 crossings a day before the conflict began in late February.

The strikes on the tankers came as US President Donald Trump ordered a naval blockade of Iranian ports to resume on 14 July and announced a 20% charge on all cargo shipped through the strait, effective from Tuesday. Trump said the levy will reimburse Washington for securing the waterway, through which about a quarter of the world's seaborne oil and a fifth of global liquefied natural gas passed before the war. The International Maritime Organisation rejected the plan, saying there was no legal basis for tolls on transit through an international strait.

US Central Command said it had launched further strikes at Trump's direction, with Iranian media reporting explosions at Bandar Abbas and on the islands of Kish, Qeshm and Abu Musa. Iran said it had targeted US assets in Kuwait in response. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran will remain the strait's guardian, but suggested a lower transit fee.

The confrontation widened elsewhere in the region. Yemen's Houthi movement fired missiles at Saudi Arabia after accusing the kingdom of striking Sanaa airport, breaking a truce that had largely held since 2022. Saudi Arabia said it intercepted a ballistic missile aimed at its southern region, while Bahrain activated emergency sirens and urged residents to seek shelter.

Trump last week notified Congress that military action begun on 7 July was consistent with his duty to protect US interests, according to a report by Politico, restarting a 60-day clock for operations without congressional approval. The move followed his declaration that the two-month ceasefire with Iran, first agreed in April, had ended.

READ THE JULY 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

Stress test for Gulf aviation; Mixed performance as country outlooks diverge in the Levant; GCC tourism sector pivots from crisis to recovery mode.

Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the July 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes: