DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A ship ran aground in the Strait of Hormuz while using a route not approved by Iran, state television in Tehran reported Wednesday. The vessel was identified as a foreign container ship, with no other details.
The report appeared aimed at underlining Tehran’s claims to control the strait, which the world has long considered an international waterway. A fifth of all oil and natural gas passed through it in peacetime.
Since the U.S. and Israel launched the war against Iran on Feb. 28, Iran has used its ability to choke off the waterway as a key source of leverage, disrupting global markets for energy and other critical goods.
The television report came as U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, were in Doha, Qatar, for talks seeking a permanent end to the war. Iran’s top negotiator, Kazem Gharibabadi, traveled to Qatar with a team as well.
Technical talks between diplomats began Wednesday in Qatar, said two regional officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door discussions. Negotiators aim to nail down specifics to pave the way for top leaders to seal an agreement, though differences over the strait and Lebanon loom large.
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