Iran said on Friday that it has the right to control shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, and it warned Gulf states not to side with Washington. The statement came a day after a ship was hit near Oman, an incident that exposed how fragile the preliminary deal to end the Iran war is.
Tehran was answering a joint statement from the United States and six Gulf states. Iran called it “interventionist, irresponsible and provocative.” The statement rejected Iran’s position that it can charge tolls on vessels using the strait.
Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi wrote on X that safe passage “cannot be guaranteed under ambiguous arrangements, parallel routes or decision-making that does not take Iran’s role as a coastal state into account.”
Ships turned back, one struck
Iranian state TV reported that three foreign tankers were turned around after trying what it called an “unauthorized passage.” It said the Revolutionary Guard had warned them off, and gave no more detail.
The day before, Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine said its Singapore-flagged ship Ever Lovely was struck close to Oman by an “unknown object.” The vessel was following a route recommended by the British navy agency UKMTO. Nobody was hurt and it continued out of the strait. Two U.S. officials told Reuters that Iran had fired on the ship.
Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority, set up by Tehran to handle transit requests, said passage on unauthorized routes would be “the responsibility of the owner, operator, and vessel commander.”
A U.S. official said Washington was looking into the reports. “President (Donald) Trump has been clear that Iran cannot subvert the free flow of traffic in the Strait,” the official said.
Rubio’s line and Tehran’s reply
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, finishing a Gulf tour meant to calm nervous allies, said on Thursday that if Iran threatened or blocked ships, “we’re going to have a problem.” He and the Gulf Cooperation Council called for “free, unconditional, and unrestricted navigation” without tolls, and said any lasting peace must deal with Iran’s ballistic missiles, drones and backing for proxy groups.
Iran’s foreign ministry replied that the U.S. military presence in the Gulf is what causes insecurity and division. It said Iran and Oman should govern the strait under the interim deal. Ali Akbar Velayati, a top adviser to the supreme leader, said Gulf Arab stability owes much to Iran’s “century-long management” of the strait.
Markets and the wider deal
Oil fell more than 3% on Friday, heading for steep weekly losses. A fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes through the strait. Saudi Aramco resumed crude loadings at Ras Tanura after a nearly four-month halt, and fertilizer shipments have also picked up.
Tehran took effective control of the waterway after the US-Israeli strikes of February 28 that started the war. The interim deal set up 60 days of talks on harder issues, including Iran’s nuclear program. Disputes remain over financial incentives, inspections and Israel’s war in Lebanon, where it dropped leaflets over the town of Mansouri on Friday ordering residents out.
