On Sunday , July 12, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy announced "the closure of the Strait of Hormuz until further notice, and the prohibition of allowing any ship to pass," justifying its decision as "the state of insecurity that has arisen as a result of the illegal intervention of foreign parties, and until the end of the American intervention in the region."
In a statement, it said the decision came after "the vessel attempted to sail through an unauthorized route in the Strait of Hormuz", noting that it was subjected to warning fire and was forced to stop, "after it turned off its navigation systems, which endangered the security of maritime navigation". Fars news agency reported that the ship was targeted by a cruise missile for ignoring warnings.
IRGC Navy raises threat ceiling
The IRGC Navy warned that "if the enemy uses this incident as a pretext and makes any mistake, it will face a harsher response, and additional bases affiliated with it in the area will be targeted."
"The consequences of such an intervention are the responsibility of the American-Zionist enemy, and the countries that have placed their territories at the disposal of the enemy's bases to be used in these threats," it said.
The statement reiterated previous warnings by the IRGC that "foreign interventions and their identification of illegal shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz will face a firm response from our side, and will lead to obstruction of the path of increased navigation in the Strait," the statement said. "Hours ago, these warnings were ignored, as several ships, at the instigation of foreign parties, tried to sail through an unapproved route, and did not respond to our warnings and warnings we sent to them to correct their course and adhere to the scheduled lanes," he added.
Oman prepares new plan
Iran insists on monopolizing the management of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, while the US administration, in cooperation with the Sultanate of Oman, is trying to open an alternative route within Oman's territorial waters.
Last Tuesday, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy carried out attacks on a number of ships that tried to cross through the Omani route, followed by US attacks on Iran, to which Tehran responded with attacks on several Arab countries.
Iran's decision to close Hormuz comes hours after CNN confirmed that Oman had prepared a draft proposal to manage navigation traffic in the Strait of Hormuz through two separately managed lanes, following talks Oman held with Iran on Saturday in Muscat on the vital corridor.
The draft stipulates that the two corridors will remain open, while the southern corridor, through Omani territorial waters, will allow freedom of navigation under the conditions that were in place before the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran at the end of last February.
Ships transiting through the Northern Corridor, which passes through Iran's territorial waters, will need prior approval from Iran, without imposing any transit fees under the agreement.
Washington Appeals to Tehran
Washington had called on Tehran late on Friday to officially halt attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and open all shipping lanes in the Gulf to cargo without charging any fees.
Reuters quoted a US official as saying, "What we are asking for is for Iran to issue an official statement confirming that all the routes of the Strait of Hormuz are open, and that it has stopped firing at ships. Either they issue this statement, or we will have nothing to satisfy them."
Comments (0)