The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has prevented six merchant ships from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the Iranian Tasnim news agency reported today, quoted by DPA, writes BTA.
According to Tasnim, the IRGC controls an area of more than 240,000 square kilometers in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
No ship will be allowed to pass if it does not comply with Iranian regulations, the IRGC announced and warned that any attempts by the US armed forces to change the course of the ships will be met with “decisive response and warning shots“.
After the warning, the ships changed their direction, added Tasnim, which is believed to be close to the IRGC.
However, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghei appeared to refute Tasnim's information, telling the English-language Iranian television “Press TV“ that there was no change in shipping conditions in the Strait of Hormuz, DPA reported.
Bagehei also highlighted ongoing bilateral negotiations with representatives of Oman, whose territorial waters extend over part of the key sea route.
The dispute over control of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which oil, natural gas and fertilizers are usually transported, is one of the main factors that led to the new escalation of the military confrontation between Iran and the United States States.
The conflict has already led to a sharp decline in commercial shipping through the strait and heightened concerns about global energy supplies.
The delegations of Iran and Oman met again earlier today to discuss the future management of the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran said today, quoted by Agence France-Presse.
According to Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai, a series of productive talks were held in Tehran on Friday and yesterday between the deputy foreign ministers of the two countries.
The coasts of both Iran and Oman stretch along the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which has become one of the main issues in the war in the Middle East after Tehran decided to block shipping there in response to the US-Israeli offensive in late February.
Before the conflict, the strait was used by a fifth of the world's hydrocarbon trade. It was briefly opened after the signing of a protocol between Iran and the United States in mid-June, but was closed again when the agreement was broken with the resumption of fighting less than a month later.
Tehran has repeatedly stated that in the future the situation in the strait will no longer be the same as before the war. Now it wants to impose service fees while Oman continues to fail to clarify its position, AFP noted.
At a meeting in London in early July, the International Maritime Organization said that countries should reject Iran's attempts to exercise sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, as well as Tehran's unilateral decision to create a body to control maritime traffic there.
Iran and Oman have already talked about the issue in recent months, but have not yet achieved concrete results.
The talks, described by Baghai as "useful", were devoted to "common principles and operational mechanisms to ensure safe navigation through the strait while respecting the sovereign rights of both countries" in their territorial waters, the ministry said.
Iran allows only one route past its coast, and the creation of an Omani route in June angered it and led to a series of attacks.
According to Iranian state television, the country's navy has stopped six ships in the past 24 hours that tried to pass through the strait without its permission.
The war in the Middle East "will escalate even further" if the United States resumes its bombing campaign, which has been suspended for two days, the Iranian military warned today on the eve of an upcoming visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington.
“If the Americans again allow themselves to be misled by the Zionists or side with them and insist on continuing the war, especially through air strikes, it will spread geographically,” a spokesman for the army, quoted by state television.
Netanyahu will arrive in Washington tomorrow and meet with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday.