Iran Warns Tankers Passing Through Strait of Hormuz Must Use Approved Routes

JAKARTA - Oil tankers crossing the Strait of Hormuz must use routes approved by Tehran or face a "severe response," according to a warning from Iran's joint military command on Thursday, which again raised tensions in the strategic waterway for international energy supplies.

The strait, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, has emerged as one of the key issues in negotiations aimed at ending the Iran war permanently.

The statement from the Khatam al-Anbiya military command, reported by Iranian state television, came after US and Iranian diplomats met with mediators on Wednesday in Qatar.

It was not immediately clear what triggered the threat from Iran. However, the US military's Central Command has issued a statement on a meeting with officials from Middle Eastern countries in Bahrain saying "leaders underscored their shared commitment to free-flowing commerce through" the strait.

That is probably the phrase that made Iran angry, ahead of the funeral of late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who died in the US-Israeli attack on February 28.

"Any failure to comply, deviation from the specified route, or disregard of the navigation protocols of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Strait of Hormuz will be met with immediate and decisive response from the armed forces, which endanger the security of the violating vessels," the Iranian statement said.

The statement also said that US forces' intervention in the strait "will be met with a rapid and firm response."

Iran and the United States agreed as part of a Memorandum of Understanding (signed by President Donald Trump and President Masoud Pezeshkian last month) to allow ships to pass through the strait without paying fees for 60 days.

The US and many Arab Gulf countries say they will not agree to Iran charging for passage through the strait. Oman's efforts and a UN body to launch a new route near the Omani coast triggered attacks across the Middle East last weekend, highlighting existing tensions.

Despite the tensions, indirect talks in Qatar on Wednesday showed "positive progress," said Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi.

He told reporters that Pakistan hopes the next round of talks will be scheduled as soon as possible after Khamenei's funeral.