KABUL: Recent attacks by the United States and Iran-aligned Houthi forces on several vessels in regional waterways have created new challenges for efforts to end the war between Iran and the United States.
According to Reuters, the Houthis attacked a cargo ship in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, killing four crew members and two Yemeni aid workers.
Meanwhile, U.S. forces fired on a Panama-flagged vessel that Washington said was attempting to violate the blockade of Iranian ports.
Iran has also announced that it will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the United States responds positively to Tehran’s demands.
Among Iran’s demands are an end to the war and the release of Iranian assets frozen abroad.
As attacks on commercial vessels increase and disagreements between Tehran and Washington continue, hopes for an agreement to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz have diminished.