Iran closes Strait of Hormuz 'until further notice' after warning shots fired at unauthorised ship

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards announced today that the Strait of Hormuz will be closed “until further notice” after firing warning shots at a ship taking an “unauthorised route”, state media reported.

The move threatens to further complicate efforts to salvage United States-Iran negotiations after both sides exchanged strikes over the past few days and traded threats.

News outlets Axios and Politico reported that Washington had given Tehran until Saturday to stop firing on commercial ships transiting Hormuz and formally acknowledge that the waterway is open.

A key roadblock to a final agreement is the future of the Strait of Hormuz, with Tehran insisting it will control shipping through the waterway and Washington demanding unrestricted navigation.

The Guards said the vessel was “hit by warning shots and stopped” after ignoring repeated instructions to use an approved shipping corridor, according to a statement carried by state news agency IRNA.

“Following this incident ... the Strait of Hormuz will be closed until further notice and until the end of American interventions in this region and no vessels will be allowed to pass through,” the Guards said.

The Guards also said “new enemy bases in the region” would be targeted if military action was carried out against the force.

The US military said it has launched a new round of strikes against Iran, after Tehran “blatantly attacked” the container ship.

It was the third round of strikes against Iran this week, US Central Command said in a statement, “after Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces blatantly attacked M/V GFS Galaxy, a Cyprus-flagged container ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz”.

“The United States is imposing a heavy cost by continuing to degrade Iran’s ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the strait,” Centcom said, adding that the strikes were being carried out at the direction of US President Donald Trump.

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints.

Around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas trade normally passes through the waterway, making any disruption a major concern for energy markets.

Iran closed the strait to commercial shipping during its war with the US and Israel, contributing to sharp rises in oil prices and disrupting maritime traffic across the region.

Iran insists it has the right to regulate passage through the strait and has announced plans to charge fees for vessels using the route.

Iranian officials have repeatedly said there will be no return to the pre-war system of unrestricted navigation.

The US has rejected that position and maintains that commercial shipping must be able to move freely through the waterway.

Under customary international law, countries are generally not permitted to impose tolls on straits used for international navigation.

Hormuz dispute

Strikes over the past few days, which ended more than a week of relative calm, revived concerns over freedom of navigation after Iran lifted its blockade of the vital waterway following a fragile ceasefire with the US.

Oil prices rose by more than 2% as the renewed attacks reignited worries over global energy supplies and cast doubt on the durability of the US-Iran agreement.

“We are now in a sensitive period where potential alternatives to an Iranian toll or fee system are being explored,” Andreas Krieg, a security expert at King’s College London, told AFP at the time.

“Iran is sending a clear signal that no alternative will be accepted.”

Krieg said tankers trying to diverge through the Omani maritime corridor without registering with Iran would be punished and called the attacks a “clear violation” of the ceasefire agreement and international law.

Maritime traffic had tentatively resumed after Washington and Tehran signed the memorandum last month, but Iran has insisted there will be no return to pre-war arrangements, under which vessels could pass freely through the strait.

Under the 14-point US-Iran memorandum, Iran and Oman, which border Hormuz, must hold talks “to define the future administration and maritime services” in the waterway with other Gulf states.

Qatar had previously refused to mediate under Iranian fire as Tehran launched an unprecedented aerial bombardment against Gulf states in retaliation for the US-Israeli strikes.

But Doha has since taken a more active role, hosting indirect talks between Iran and the US last week.

- AFP