Iran warns Strait of Hormuz must not become stage for foreign military displays
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Tehran: Iran cautioned that the Strait of Hormuz is not a "theater" for transregional powers to stage military maneuvers, saying responsibility for the waterway’s security rests with Iran and Oman.
Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, wrote on X that Tehran, as the "responsible authority and guarantor of security in the strait," warned against any military movements in the sensitive passage. His comments came after a joint statement by outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron described the strait as a "vital artery" for the global economy and urged measures to restore safe transit for ships of all nations.
Starmer and Macron said Oman has agreed to cooperate with Britain and France to secure its territorial waters and that the two European countries "stand ready to deploy the wider Multinational Military Mission to support freedom of navigation" in the strait.
Separately, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency, citing maritime tracking data, reported that eight vessels attempting to transit along the Omani coast were turned back. Bloomberg also reported some ships reached the tip of the Musandam Peninsula before reversing course; one crude tanker, two product tankers and a bulk carrier later sailed northward on routes directed by Iran.
Iran intensified control over the strait on February 28 after it barred passage of vessels linked to Israel and the United States following joint strikes on Iranian territory.
(Inputs from IANS)