IRGC Announces Larak Corridor, New Route for Ships to Pass Hormuz Strait

JAKARTA - The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy announced the opening of a new route for ships that want to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

Xinhua on Monday, April 20, reported that the route for international shipping was named "Larak Corridor", stretching from the south of Hormuz Island to the south of Larak Island.

It was state television station IRIB TV that first reported the IRGC Navy's announcement on Sunday, April 19 local time.

According to the report, the "Larak Corridor" can be used by international shipping vessels after the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and with the permission of the IRGC Navy.

The route is entirely within Iranian territorial waters, and unauthorized transit is unlikely given the IRGC Navy's tight control over the waterway.

Iran tightened its grip on a fifth of its oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies from February 28, after a massive Israeli and US attack on Iranian territory on the same day.

The US has also recently imposed a blockade targeting ships going to and from Iranian ports, after US-Iranian peace negotiations in Islamabad, Pakistan, stalled.