Iran reasserts its right to control shipping in Strait of Hormuz after ship hit near Oman

[DUBAI/LONDON] Teheran reasserted its right on Friday (Jun 26) to control shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and warned Gulf states against siding with the US.

This comes a day after an attack on a ship near Oman highlighted the fragility of a preliminary deal to end the Iran war.

Iran was responding to what it called an “interventionist, irresponsible and provocative” joint statement by the US and six Gulf states, which rejected Iran’s insistence that it could charge tolls on vessels transiting the strait.

“Safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz cannot be guaranteed under ambiguous arrangements, parallel routes or decision-making that does not take Iran’s role as a coastal state into account,” Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on X.

Underlining the risks facing shipping, Iranian state TV later reported that three foreign tankers, which were attempting what it called an “unauthorised passage” of the strait, were turned back after a warning from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. It gave no further details.

Oil prices dropped by more than 3 per cent on Friday, on course for steep weekly losses.

This comes despite the conflicting interpretations of last week’s interim deal between Iran and the US, and a slowdown in traffic through the strait, where a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies typically passes.

Saudi Aramco resumed crude loadings on Friday at its Ras Tanura terminal in the Gulf, the world’s biggest oil port, after a nearly four-month halt, shipping data showed.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio – wrapping up a tour of the Gulf to reassure nervous regional allies about the interim pact – told reporters on Thursday that if Iran threatened or blocked ships in the strait, “we’re going to have a problem”.

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In their joint statement, Rubio and the Gulf Cooperation Council called for “free, unconditional, and unrestricted navigation” in the strait, without tolls or “attempts to assert control”.

They said a lasting peace must address Iran’s ballistic missiles, drones and support for proxy groups.

Iran warns against hostile policies

Iran’s foreign ministry responded on Friday by saying that the US military presence in the Gulf was the source of regional insecurity and division, and that the strait should be governed by Iran and Oman in line with the terms of the interim deal.

“We warn against the continuation of hostile and interventionist policies in the region,” it said.

Teheran took effective control of the waterway after US-Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb 28 triggered the war, disrupting oil flows and rattling global energy markets and the wider economy.

Ali Akbar Velayati, top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, issued a warning to Washington’s Gulf allies.

“The stability of the Persian Gulf Arab states is indebted to Iran’s century-long management of the Strait of Hormuz... their strategic survival is at the mercy of Teheran’s tolerance,” he said on X.

Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine said earlier on Friday that its Singapore-flagged ship Ever Lovely had been hit close to Oman on Thursday by an “unknown object”, while on a route recommended by the British navy agency United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations.

Nobody was hurt in the incident, and the ship later resumed its journey out of the strait. Two US officials told Reuters that Iran had fired on the ship.

Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority – established by Teheran to manage requests for ships to travel through the strait – said that passage through unauthorised routes would be “the responsibility of the owner, operator and vessel commander”.

There was no immediate comment from the US government. US President Donald Trump warned in June that if Iran did not honour the interim deal, including reopening the strait, the US would probably go back to bombing the country.

Points of contention

Alongside the issue of control over the strait, disagreements persist over other elements of the framework ceasefire deal, including over financial incentives for Iran, nuclear inspections and Israel’s parallel war in Lebanon.

The deal has set up 60 days of talks to tackle thornier issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme.

In the US, the war is weighing heavily on Trump before November midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO), a UN agency, temporarily paused its operation to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz after the Oman incident.

The IMO and Oman in the week of Jun 22 announced a new southern route through the strait to evacuate hundreds of ships stranded by the war, angering Teheran.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said on Friday that three South Korean ships would leave the strait over the weekend, after the Oceans Ministry reported that eight more South Korean vessels had exited.

Two very large crude carriers (VLCC), controlled by Saudi Arabia’s shipping arm Bahri, were seen loading crude at Ras Tanura, while another waited nearby, shipping data showed. Each VLCC can load two million barrels of oil.

Ras Tanura sits on the Saudi coast to the west of the Strait of Hormuz. It used to export more than five million barrels a day of crude, before the conflict. REUTERS