Iran issued a fresh warning on Thursday for vessels to follow Tehran-designated routes through the Strait of Hormuz, once again spotlighting the tensions over the crucial waterway.
Any failure to heed this warning “will be met with an immediate and firm response from the armed forces, putting the safety of the offending vessels at risk,” Iran’s joint military command cautioned in a statement, according to semi-official Fars News Agency.
Traffic passing through the strait has fragmented into several routes one hugging the Iranian coastline, a second sticking close to the Omani coastline and a third, which was used before the war, passing through the middle of the strait.
Iran has sought to dissuade vessels from taking these second two routes, which weaken their control over the strait. On Thursday, the country’s Revolutionary Guards warned ships transiting the waterway they would be “responsible for any consequences” if they took other routes.
The status of the waterway, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies flow, has become a key stumbling block in negotiations between the Iran and US.
This latest warning comes a day after US Central Command (CENTCOM) met with 12 Middle Eastern nations in Bahrain. In that meeting, they “discussed the current regional security environment” and “underscored their shared commitment to the free flow of commerce through the Strait of Hormuz,” a CENTCOM statement said.
Source: Aida Karimi and Issy Ronald CNN
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