Iran attack halts UN evacuation in Strait of Hormuz

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An Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps attack on a Singapore-flagged commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz forced the United Nations to pause its evacuation operation for stranded ships Thursday. The strike raised immediate questions about Iran's commitment to keeping one of the world's most critical shipping lanes open and functional. The attack comes amid ongoing tensions over maritime security in the region, where roughly a fifth of global oil passes through daily. Insurance companies have already begun adjusting war risk premiums for vessels transiting the waterway, a concrete marker of how shipping operators now price the danger. The UN had been working to evacuate vessels trapped in the increasingly volatile corridor, but the attack and its fallout left those plans in abeyance. The incident underscores the fragility of commercial passage through a chokepoint that connects Middle Eastern oil producers to global markets.