Updated

Shipping analysts said the threat to oil tankers in the Middle East is now the most severe since the start of the war with Iran, citing fresh attacks on alternative shipping routes that vessels had adopted to avoid earlier danger zones. Operators face an increasingly complex picture, with insurers and crews weighing rerouting costs against the risk of attack in and around the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. The warnings come as regional tensions persist despite diplomatic contacts between Washington and Tehran. In a further sign of the risk, a tanker transiting roughly nine nautical miles southeast of Oman's Kumzar, near the Strait of Hormuz, reported hearing two blasts. The report added to a series of incidents affecting commercial shipping in the waterway. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said Washington is in contact with Tehran and would prefer an agreement to further military action, saying "I would rather make a deal with Iran because I don't want to kill people." The combination of continued maritime incidents and unresolved negotiations has left shipowners uncertain about the security of Gulf routes.