ALERT: Iran warns ships against circumventing its route in the Strait of Hormuz
Global Update:
The following report highlights an important international development currently attracting worldwide attention.
Is war back between Iran and the United States? As hostilities have resumed in recent days between the two countries, Tehran has warned ships against any deviation from its route in the Strait of Hormuz, which would risk “increasing tensions” regionally. Tehran and Washington ended up signing a memorandum of understanding on June 17, the epilogue to weeks of about-faces and threats, and began talks in Switzerland. But the control of Hormuz, a strategic sea route around thirty kilometers wide which separates Iran and Oman, remains at the heart of the disputes, with both camps accusing each other of violations of the ceasefire. Locked by the Islamic Republic during the war launched on February 28 by Israel and the United States, which destabilized global hydrocarbon trade and sent oil prices soaring, the strait reopened last week. Tehran, however, only allows one passage corridor, along its coasts, and threatens to attack any offending vessel. “No other institution or other country” than Iran is “responsible” for the management of the strait, the head of diplomacy Abbas Araghchi insisted on Sunday. Read alsoThe bet on an alternative route in the Strait of Hormuz Iran took a dim view of Oman’s announcement of the opening of a temporary alternative navigation route, presented as a concerted initiative with the UN to evacuate stranded sailors and ships. Dozens of boats used it this week. And since Thursday, two ships have been hit by projectiles of unknown origin – attacks attributed to Tehran by the American army which responded two days in a row by bombing Iran. Tehran, for its part, responded by firing missiles and drones towards its Gulf neighbors, notably Kuwait and Bahrain. Following these exchanges of strikes, Doha reported the death of a Qatari citizen, hit by shrapnel falling on his boat in connection with “military operations in the region”. Rejection of “any interference” “Any interference” in the management of the strait will lead “to delays in (its) reopening and increase tensions”, warned Abbas Araghchi during an official visit to Baghdad. He urged the parties “not to let this protocol deviate from its trajectory”, which aims to enable the conclusion of a final agreement at the end of a 60-day negotiation period. According to the text of the protocol, the Islamic Republic “will engage in dialogue with the Sultanate of Oman to define the future administration and maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz, in consultation with other Gulf Coast States, in accordance with international law.” If Iran and Oman claim sovereignty over Hormuz, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), adopted in 1982, guarantees a right of “transit passage” in straits used for international navigation, such as that of Hormuz, essential for connecting the Gulf to the rest of the world. According to this text, not ratified by Tehran, “all ships and aircraft” whose goal is “continuous and rapid” transit of the strait enjoy “unhindered” freedom of navigation. Strikes continue in Lebanon In Lebanon, Israel continued its strikes on the south, despite the framework agreement for a “lasting peace” signed Friday in Washington by the two countries and the inclusion of the Lebanese front, under pressure from Tehran, in the memorandum of understanding with Washington. “Our objective is to end the war in Lebanon, allow the return of the displaced to their homes, put an end to the occupation and obtain the withdrawal of the Zionist regime from Lebanese territory,” insisted on Sunday the chief Iranian negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. The day after Israeli raids killed one person in southern Lebanon, the Israeli army announced the death of one of its soldiers, bringing its losses to 38 since the start of the conflict on March 2. The leader of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah, Naïm Qassem, rejected the framework agreement as “shameful”, while a deputy from the Shiite party, Hassan Fadlallah, warned that the text “would not be applied”, warning against the risk of an “internal conflict”. The agreement conditions Israel’s withdrawal from the country – whose troops occupy a sector in the south – on the disarmament of the Islamist movement. A long-standing requirement that Beirut is struggling to implement. Lebanon was drawn into the conflict in early March when Hezbollah targeted Israel in support of its Iranian sponsor, after the US-Israeli offensive on Tehran. Ave AFP
Why This Matters:
The situation could have broader implications for regional stability, international relations, and global markets.
Observers believe further developments could significantly shape the direction of this story in the near future.
Readers are encouraged to monitor future developments as the situation evolves.
Source: This article was originally published by France 24 – Infos, news & actualités – L'information internationale en direct and adapted for our international English-speaking audience.
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