Oil tankers are racing to cross the Strait of Hormuz before the US Navy enforces a military blockade this afternoon.
Donald Trump announced that American forces would prevent ships from “entering or exiting Iranian ports” after negotiations between America and Iran collapsed in Pakistan on Sunday.
Cargo ships laden with Iranian oil – such as the US-sanctioned Aurora – are attempting to sail through the strait before the US Navy imposes the blockade at 3pm BST.
The New Future tanker, which has no links to Iran, is carrying diesel loaded from the port of Hamriyah in the United Arab Emirates and is travelling in the same direction towards the Gulf of Oman, close to the Iranian coastline, according to Kpler data.
A Vietnam-owned liquefied petroleum gas carrier is approaching the strait from the opposite direction, apparently attempting to enter the Persian Gulf.
The US blockade comes despite Iranian Armed Forces warning that restrictions on ships in international waters “amount to piracy”, adding that no ports in the region would be safe if Iranian ports were under threat.
The Telegraph understands that Sir Keir Starmer will not send British warships to enforce the blockade.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration is considering both a fully fledged bombing campaign and limited military strikes on Iranian infrastructure to support the blockade, officials told the Wall Street Journal.
Oil prices – which tumbled last week after the temporary ceasefire – jumped around 8 per cent this morning.