Overnight, the crisis moved from a status dispute to open confrontation on three fronts at once.
Iranian missiles struck two UAE-flagged tankers, the Al Bahiyah and Mombasa, while they transited the southern Omani-coast corridor JMIC had described as the safer, still-open route. One Indian crew member was killed aboard Mombasa, eight more wounded (six Indian, two Ukrainian). It is the first confirmed fatality from a direct vessel strike this crisis, and the first time UAE has been struck directly.
Hours earlier, President Trump declared the US "Guardian of the Strait of Hormuz," reimposing a naval blockade on Iranian ports effective 4 PM ET today and demanding a 20% toll on all Hormuz cargo. The UN's International Maritime Organization rejected the toll within hours, saying it has "no legal basis." Iran's foreign minister rejected the US claim in turn, asserting Iran remains the strait's "guardian... forever" and reasserting its own ~$2M-per-ship fee.
Brent jumped to ~$87/bbl, up ~14% since Friday. Maersk, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, and MSC have all begun rerouting Gulf and Asia-Europe services via Salalah/Khor Fakkan and the Cape of Good Hope rather than pricing through the risk.
CENTCOM struck Iran for a third consecutive night; Iran claims, and Bahrain disputes, a retaliatory hit on Fifth Fleet radar assets.
Watch for: UAE's response, whether other Gulf states invoke collective defense, and whether any carrier reverses its Cape diversion.