The military command issued the threat a day after Qatari mediators hailed ‘positive progress’ in indirect US-Iranian talks.
Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters issued the threat on Thursday, a day after Qatari mediators hailed indirect talks between US and Iranian officials as “positive progress” towards a peace deal.
Recommended Stories
4 item listend of list
“Any failure to adhere to and depart from the designated route or disregard the navigation protocols of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Strait of Hormuz will result in an immediate and forceful response from the armed forces, and will jeopardize the safety of the offending vessels,” the military command said in a statement carried by the country’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.
Although Tehran did not say what prompted the warning, it came after US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Wednesday it had chaired a security dialogue in Bahrain during which regional leaders expressed their commitment to the “free flow of commerce” in the strait.
Iran’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi took aim at CENTCOM’s statement on Thursday, saying the forum “cannot establish legal order and security for the Persian Gulf”.
“The security of the region will be ensured through an end to interventions and US withdrawal from the region, respect for countries’ sovereignty and acceptance of new geopolitical realities – not under US military umbrella,” Gharibabadi said in a post on X.
The Strait of Hormuz, which facilitated about a fifth of global trade in oil and liquefied natural gas before the US-Israeli war over Iran began in late February, has become a major stumbling block in Washington and Tehran’s talks aimed at turning their fragile ceasefire into a lasting peace.
While Iran agreed to make its “best efforts” to arrange safe passage of ships in the strait in a memorandum of understanding signed with the US on June 17, Tehran has repeatedly threatened to attack ships that do not use its preferred route close to the Iranian coastline.
At least 49 attacks on commercial vessels have been recorded in the strait since the war began on February 28, according to MarineTraffic.
Tehran has been blamed for most of the incidents, including drone attacks on a Singapore-flagged cargo ship and a Panama-flagged merchant ship on Thursday and Saturday respectively.
While transits through the waterway have increased since US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian signed their memorandum of understanding on June 17, they remain well below the approximately 130 daily crossings that occurred before the conflict.
At least 45 ships transited the strait on Wednesday, up from 34 on Tuesday, according to marinetraffic data.
Oil prices were largely steady at the market open in Asia on Friday, after falling to pre-war levels on Thursday on reports of productive talks in Doha.
Brent futures for August delivery were at $72.07 a barrel by 02:30 GMT, having fallen below $71 for the first time since the war the previous day.
<a href