Tensions are escalating again near the Strait of Hormuz after a ship anchored off the United Arab Emirates was seized and taken toward Iran and another was attacked and sank near the coast of Oman. (Image credit: Digital Embed)

Map showing where a vessel was seized off the UAE coast. Digital Embed/AP hide caption DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A ship anchored off the United Arab Emirates was seized and taken toward Iran and another — a cargo ship near Oman — sank after being attacked, authorities said Thursday, as tensions escalated near the Strait of Hormuz. It wasn’t immediately clear who was behind these incidents, but they happened as a senior Iranian official reiterated his country’s claim of control over the waterway and another said it had a right to seize oil tankers connected to the U.S. The turmoil in the strait, which a fifth of the world’s oil passed through before the war, has been a sticking point for weeks in talks between the U.S.

and Iran to end the conflict. Iran’s grip on the vital waterway has jolted the world economy and spiked fuel prices far beyond the Middle East. The ongoing instability in the region comes as U.S. President Donald Trump met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.

What You Need to Know

  • Source: NPR
  • Published: May 15, 2026 at 05:11 UTC
  • Category: World
  • Topics: #npr · #usa · #world-news · #war · #conflict · #tensions

Read the Full Story

This is a curated summary. For the complete article, original data, quotes and full analysis:

Read the full story on NPR →

All reporting rights belong to the respective author(s) at NPR. GlobalBR News summarizes publicly available content to help readers discover the most relevant global news.

Curated by GlobalBR News · May 15, 2026