South Korea has dispatched an inspection team to the United Arab Emirates to assess security conditions around the Strait of Hormuz, the defence ministry said on Tuesday, while stressing that no decision has been taken on sending troops [1]. Yonhap reported the team left over the weekend and could return as early as this week. The presidential office said on Friday that Seoul was reviewing options, including military measures, to support freedom of navigation, while denying reports that a deployment had already been approved [1].

The review follows President Trump's August decision to scale back joint US-South Korea military exercises, partly because Seoul had declined to help Washington in the US-Iran war [1]. Tehran has already reacted: Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said on X this week that any South Korean military presence or participation in Gulf operations would be considered support for US "aggression" and would have serious consequences [1]. That is a threat, not an attack. No Korean vessel or aircraft has been reported in the strait, and Iran's warning is uncorroborated by any action.

Separately, Britain on Tuesday published legislation expanding sanctions on Iran, including new powers to target ships, alongside broader trade bans and a prohibition on Iranian aircraft landing in the UK [2]. Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty said the measures "double down" on constraining Iran's nuclear ambitions and would restore sectoral restrictions lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal. The package carves out licences allowing BP to keep operating the Shah Deniz gas field despite an Iranian stake [2]. Parliament must still approve it.

Neither development moves oil today. Hormuz transits remain a handful a day against a pre-war norm of roughly 85, and Reuters market coverage carried on both pages put Brent above $100 a barrel on Wednesday for the first time since July [1][2]. What has shifted is the perimeter: a major Asian importer is openly weighing a naval contribution, and a European power is legislating interdiction powers. That raises the chance a corridor currently shut by insurance pricing becomes contested by more navies, widening a conflict that has already spread to Saudi facilities and Bab al-Mandeb.