As talks got underway in Islamabad between Iran and the US to find a ceasefire formula, a dramatic showdown was playing out in the Strait of Hormuz, as several US Navy vessels attempted to sneak through and exit the Persian Gulf have permission from Tehran.

Several US navy ships crossed the Strait of Hormuz on April 11 in a move that wasn’t coordinated with Iran, Axios reported, citing a US official it didn’t identify.

It’s the first time such a move has occurred since the start of the conflict, Axios reporter Barak Ravid wrote in a post on X. At least two ships are reported to have successfully exited however a third one was forced to turn back.

The Iranians hailed the US ship and warned that if it didn't turn around within 30 minutes they would open fire. This news was related to the Islamabad meeting. Fearing for the well-being of his ship commanded the captain ordered the vessel to turn round and return to port, Iran's Fars News reports.

"An US Navy destroyer departed from the UAE heading toward the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran issued a strong warning: if the destroyer continued, it would be targeted within 30 minutes, and Iran-US negotiations would be affected.

Before that, the USS Michael Murphy successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz without incident or any attack from Iran.

Iran went into the Islamabad talks saying it had its “finger on the trigger,” and it seems the US navy took that statement at face value.

First oil tankers pass through

Three oil supertankers have crossed the Strait of Hormuz today: one Greek owned, and two Chinese. In total, ~6mn barrels. All followed the new shipping lanes through the Iranian islands on the northern side of the Strait, part of the new permits-for-passage regime imposed by Tehran.

The three ships were reportedly carrying 6mn barrels oil, a significant amount that will ease the supply shortage hitting the market since the conflict began.

Before the talks started Tehran said it was unable to reopen the strait on technical grounds.

The New York Times, citing US officials, reported that Iran cannot increase the strait's capacity to accommodate more ships because it has lost track of mines planted there. The were planted by Iran speed boats, but have since slipped their moorings and drifted away.

"We are unable to find all the deployed mines at Strait of Hormuz, and we don't have any equipments to find them. So it is impossible to open Strait of Hormuz for now,” said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. "The mines were laid quickly by small IRGC boats, and some have since drifted from their original positions"