The contest for control of the Strait of Hormuz — the maritime chokepoint at the mouth of the Persian Gulf — threatens to derail negotiations between Iran and the United States on a broader agreement to end the conflict.
Over the past three days, US and Iranian forces have targeted each other after Iran attacked two ships transiting the Strait.
Tehran insists that ships must have its permission to sail through the Strait on designated routes. But a growing number of vessels are using a route that hugs the Omani coast, threatening Iran’s leverage over the waterway.
On Thursday, 18 vessels transited inbound and 45 outbound through the Strait of Hormuz, according to maritime analysts Windward. It said more than half the vessels leaving the Gulf had used the southern route close to Oman.
Several large crude carriers have been loading oil at Saudi and Emirati ports in preparation for passage through the Strait, according to shipping analysts.
Then the International Maritime Organization suspended use of the route after a cargo ship was attacked in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday.
“However, given the vessel attack [on Thursday] and the IRGC reportedly instructing multiple tankers transiting the southern corridor to turn around on June 25, transits have slowed,” it added.
A statement from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Sunday insisted that “according to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, control over transit and passage through the Strait of Hormuz lies with the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
“From now on, violating vessels will be dealt with more forcefully than before,” it said.
