West Asia conflict highlights: US military boards another ship as it enforces blockade on Iranian ports

The US military said Tuesday in a social media post that it boarded and released another commercial ship that was suspected of heading for IranThe post by US Central Command on X included a video showed marines fastroping from a helicopter onto the vessel which it said was the Comorosflagged MV Blue Star III It happened in the Arabian Sea east of the Strait of HormuzUS forces released the vessel after conducting a search and confirming the ships voyage would not include an Iranian port call the command saidEarlier today in the Arabian Sea US Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit boarded MV Blue Star III a commercial ship suspected of attempting to transit to Iran in violation of the US blockade of Iranian ports US forces released the vessel after conducting ahellip pictwittercomUFx329OsHjmdash US Central Command CENTCOM April 28 2026The command said it has now redirected 39 vessels since start of the blockade on ships going to and from Iranian portsRed Cross aims to assess humanitarian situation in IranThe president of the International Committee of the Red Cross has arrived in Iran to meet with officials and local affiliates and assess the wars humanitarian consequencesMirjana Spoljaric will also discuss efforts of the Genevabased humanitarian organisation to ship more relief supplies to Iran notably through the Iranian Red Crescent SocietyThe ICRC says it delivered more than 170 tons of essential relief items to help people affected by the conflict this month with more medical items and forensic supplies on their wayHer visit is part of a trip through the region that involves bilateral discussions to help ensure respect for the rules of war the organisation saidGCC leaders reject Irans measures to close Strait of HormuzGulf Cooperation Council GCC Secretary General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi said on Tuesday that GCC states have rejected Irans illegal measures to close the Strait of Hormuz and obstruct navigation through the waterwayThe statement was made at the 19th Consultative Meeting of GCC leaders held in Saudi Arabias port city of Jeddah on TuesdayAlbudaiwi said the leaders also rejected any measures that would negatively affect navigation through the strait including the imposition of fees on ships passing through it reports Xinhua news agencyThe leaders stressed the need to restore security and freedom of navigation in the strait and return conditions there to what they were before February 28 he addedAlbudaiwi said the GCC leaders directed the GCC General Secretariat to expedite the completion of requirements for all joint GCC projects including transport and logistics services and to accelerate the implementation of the GCC railway projectHe said the leaders also highlighted the need to take steps toward establishing an oil and gas pipeline project and a water interconnection project They also called for moving forward with studies on establishing areas for GCC strategic reserves he saidIndia condemns attacks on Hormuz Shipping at UNSCIndia has condemned the attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz which is vital to its energy and economic security and called for restoring free navigationldquoCommercial shipping must not be the target of military attacks and such attempts are deplorablerdquo Indiarsquos Deputy Permanent Representative Yojna Patel told the Security Council on TuesdayPatel did not mention any country by name but alluded to Iran by recalling that India cosponsored a Council resolution brought by Bahrain that condemned in the ldquostrongest termsrdquo Tehranrsquos attacks on its Middle East neighboursldquoIt bears mention in this context that India had cosponsored UNSC resolution 2817 which was adopted on 11th Marchrdquo she saidIran has attacked Indian ships and a vessel bound for it and in assaults on ships of other countries at least three Indian sailors have diedThe US has also set up a blockade in the Hormuz regionKing Charles Trump toast ties despite Iran tensionsBritains King Charles and Donald Trump hailed their countries longstanding ties at a White House state dinner Tuesday despite the US president claiming the monarch agreed with him on Irans nuclear weaponsOver a lavish meal Charles echoed the tone of his earlier speech to Congress in which he urged London and Washington to stick together without directly mentioning the tensions over the USIsraeli war with TehranBut in his toast to a gala dinner attended by tech titans and golfer Rory McIlroy Trump made his first public comments on the sensitive topic during the fourday visit by the British royalsWe have militarily defeated that particular opponent Trump said at the White House dinner Charles agrees with me even more than I do were never going to let that opponent have a nuclear weaponTrump has repeatedly lambasted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer over his opposition to the Iran war and there is no indication that King Charles has shown support for the US leaders stanceNevertheless both leaders strongly praised the special relationship between Britain and Washington putting aside however briefly the transatlantic tensionsUS lawmakers to grill Pentagon chief on Iran warUS Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will face tough questions from lawmakers about the Iran war on Wednesday during his first testimony to Congress since the start of the conflictHegseths appearance before the House Armed Services Committee will be for a hearing on President Donald Trumps USD 15 trillion defense budget requestLawmakers from both parties have previously expressed dissatisfaction with the information provided in classified briefings on the war setting up a potentially fiery public hearing in which top US military officer General Dan Caine is also set to testifyWith AP IANS and AFP inputs