Iran warns oil tankers to use approved Hormuz routes or face ‘forceful response’

Iran’s joint military command warned that all oil tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz must use its approved routes or face a “forceful response”, again ratcheting up tensions over a waterway crucial for international energy supplies.

The strait, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, has emerged as one of the top issues in negotiations to reach a permanent end to the Iran war.

The statement on Thursday from the Khatam al-Anbiya military command, reported by Iranian state television, comes after both US and Iranian diplomats met with mediators on Wednesday in Qatar.

It was not immediately clear what sparked the threat from Iran.

However, the US military’s Central Command had put out a statement about having a meeting with officials from Middle East nations in Bahrain that said “leaders underscored their shared commitment to the free flow of commerce through the Strait of Hormuz”.

That appears to have been the phrase to anger Iran, which is preparing for the funeral that begins this weekend for the late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the war’s first moments in February.

“Any failure to comply, deviation from the designated route, or disregard for the navigation protocols of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Strait of Hormuz will be met with an immediate and forceful response from the armed forces, endangering the security of the violating vessels,” the Iranian statement said.

It also said the continued presence of US fighter jets over the strait “causes insecurity in this waterway and threatens regional security”.

“Any attempt by the United States to interfere in security matters or any disruptive action in the Strait of Hormuz will be considered a threat to Iran’s national sovereignty and will be met with a rapid and decisive reaction,” the Iranian warning added.

Iran and the US agreed as part of an interim deal to allow ships to pass without paying charges for 60 days.

But Tehran insisted it must control the routes of the vessels and later charge fees for passage, upending decades of practice in the waterway.

In a report apparently aimed at bolstering Tehran’s claims to control the strait, Iranian state television said this week that a foreign ship got stuck in the waterway after ignoring instructions from Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

However, the vessel’s shape, reported location and other details indicate the ship is tied to Iran and appears to have been stranded for months.

The US and many Gulf Arab states say they will not agree to the charges.

An effort by Oman and a United Nations agency to launch a new route near Oman’s shore sparked attacks across the Mideast last weekend, highlighting the tensions.

Despite the attacks, ship traffic in the strait continued to rebound.

At least 258 ships transited the waterway last week, a period that included Iranian strikes on two commercial vessels, according to marine data and analysis company Lloyd’s List Intelligence.

That is up from 138 ships the previous week.

Traffic has slowed since the Iranian strikes on June 25 and 27.

At least 80 more ships passed the strait between Monday and Wednesday, according to Lloyd’s and shipping data and analysis firm Windward.

Iran’s attacks “seem to have been forgotten”, Richard Meade, editor-in-chief at Lloyd’s, said on Thursday during a webinar.

Ship traffic in the strait remains far below levels seen before the war, when about 130 vessels passed through daily.

Earlier this week, Iranian state television reported that a foreign ship got stuck in the strait after ignoring instructions from Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

However, the vessel’s shape, reported location and other details indicate the ship is tied to Iran and appears to have been stranded for months.

Despite the tensions, Wednesday’s talks saw “positive progress”, Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi said.

He told journalists that Pakistan hoped the next round of talks would be scheduled as soon as possible after the late supreme leader’s funeral.