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Commercial shipping traffic was trickling through the Strait of Hormuz Saturday as US allies in the Gulf strongly condemned an Iranian drone strike on Bahrain in a spate of violence that threatened to tank a peace deal.

The military strikes have slowed traffic in the vital waterway, which carries about 20% of global oil shipping. 

The United Arab Emirates slammed the attack “in the strongest terms” while Kuwait, which houses major US bases, called it a “threat to the security and stability of the region.” The foreign ministry of Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, denounced it as “a flagrant violation of Bahrain’s sovereignty.”


  Ships were moving through the Strait of Hormuz Saturday at a fraction of the normal volume, after Iran launched a drone attack at Bahrain, in a move that US Gulf allies condemned. REUTERS Ships were moving through the Strait of Hormuz Saturday at a fraction of the normal volume, after Iran launched a drone attack at Bahrain, in a move that US Gulf allies condemned. REUTERS

A tanker in the strait was also struck by a projectile, according to the UK’s Maritime Trade Operations, just the latest in a series of vessels to come under fire. It said the ship was damaged but the crew were unharmed.

Ten commercial ships had passed through the critical waterway, Fox reported as of Saturday morning.

Oil prices have dropped to pre-war levels, ending the week at $72 per barrel for Brent crude.

In another flashpoint, Naim Qassem, leader of the Iranian proxy terror group Hezbollah on Saturday rejected a ceasefire that the US helped broker between Israel and the Lebanese government. 

He called the deal “null and void” and a “humiliation,” saying that proposals linking the withdrawal of Israeli forces to Hezbollah’s disarmament crossed “red lines.”

The Memorandum of Understanding reached between US and Iranian negotiators this month calls for an end to hostilities, including in Lebanon. 


  US Secretary of State Marco Rubio walks with Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa following their meeting and his visit to the Middle East to discuss the interim deal between the US and Iran with Arab Gulf allies. POOL/AFP via Getty Images US Secretary of State Marco Rubio walks with Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa following their meeting and his visit to the Middle East to discuss the interim deal between the US and Iran with Arab Gulf allies. POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Tensions flared once again in the region after an Iranian drone strike Thursday on a Singapore-flagged cargo ship along the coast of Oman prompted US military attacks on Iranian targets.

A US maritime body overseen by the military said it was expanding a route along Oman.

That move was seen as more brushback to Tehran, which inked a Memorandum of Understanding with the US where both sides agreed the strait would remain open for 60 days toll-free.


  Members of Bahrain’s Civil Defense extinguish a fire caused by falling debris from intercepted Iranian drones in Hamad Town, Bahrain, on June 11, 2026. ZUMAPRESS.com Members of Bahrain’s Civil Defense extinguish a fire caused by falling debris from intercepted Iranian drones in Hamad Town, Bahrain, on June 11, 2026. ZUMAPRESS.com

The body called the current threat level “substantial.”

On Friday, the US executed a “powerful response” to Iran’s attack on the M/V Ever Lovely as the ship transited the strait a day earlier, attacking Iranian missile and drone storage locations as well as coastal radar, Central Command said Friday.

“The unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces clearly violated the ceasefire,” CENTCOM said.

Follow The Post’s coverage on the latest in the peace deal with Iran:

“Furthermore, Iran’s dangerous behavior undermined freedom of navigation as commerce increasingly flows through the vital international trade corridor.”

Iran’s foreign ministry vowed in response to “defend the country’s sovereignty, security, and national interests with all its strength.” And the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened that “In the event of a repeat of aggression, our response will be more extensive.”

Vice President JD Vance, who was in Switzerland for Iran talks with Tehran on Monday, vowed Friday evening that violence by the Iranians would not continue.

“Iran signed a ceasefire agreement. We have honored it. If they have disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone,”he said.

“But violence will be met with violence.”

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