Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps struck a Singapore-flagged commercial cargo vessel with a drone in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday evening, a U.S. official confirmed to CBS News and the Associated Press. The ship's bridge was damaged after it was hit on its starboard side off the coast of Dahit, Oman, according to the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations Centre, which reported no casualties or environmental damage. The vessel was not part of an ongoing UN-coordinated evacuation effort for ships stranded in the Persian Gulf.

Following the strike, the United Nations' International Maritime Organization suspended its large-scale evacuation plan for stranded vessels, citing the need to reconfirm that safety guarantees remain in place. IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said the halt was necessary "in order to reconfirm that the necessary safety guarantees continue to be in place," adding that seafarer safety "remains paramount." The IMO had launched the evacuation effort earlier in the week, offering two transit routes through the strait — one through Iranian waters and one along the Omani coast.

The attack came amid a deepening dispute over which route ships may use and whether Iran can impose transit fees. The U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding last week under which Iran agreed to use its "best efforts" to ensure toll-free safe passage through the strait for 60 days, a deal that had briefly revived ship traffic — from six vessels per week to 70 on Tuesday alone. However, Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority warned Thursday that any vessel using routes not designated by Tehran would not be covered by safe passage guarantees or insurance. Iran has also not ruled out imposing transit tolls once the 60-day window expires.

Diplomatically, the broader U.S.-Iran negotiations remain unsettled on multiple fronts. President Trump claimed this week that Iran would purchase American wheat, corn, and soybeans using released sanctioned funds, but Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf publicly denied the claim, writing on social media that "the only crop we're harvesting is what you planted: decades of mistrust." Meanwhile, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said Friday that while an interim accord grants UN inspectors access to Iran, talks over what to do with Tehran's uranium stockpile have "barely initiated" and a "very strong" verification system must be established as soon as practicable. Secretary of State Marco Rubio separately affirmed that the U.S. and Gulf allies would ensure no fees are charged on ships transiting the strait, though Thursday's strike and the IMO pause illustrate the fragility of that commitment.