Iran has announced alternative navigation routes for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, citing the risk posed by sea mines in the main shipping channel, according to AFP.
The move comes after Tehran
agreed to temporarily reopen the strategically crucial waterway as part of a fragile two-week ceasefire arrangement with the United States.
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“All ships intending to transit the Strait of Hormuz are hereby notified that in order to comply with the principles of maritime safety and to be protected from possible collisions with sea mines, they should take alternative routes for traffic in the Strait of Hormuz,” Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement quoted by local media, AFP reported.
The statement outlined instructions for an alternative entry and exit route through the strait to ensure safer passage for commercial vessels navigating the waterway, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supply typically flows.
According to Al Jazeera, Iranian state media quoted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy as advising ships to coordinate with its forces while transiting the strait.
The proposed routes include entry from the Sea of Oman towards the north of Larak Island, then continuing into the Gulf, and exit from the Gulf by passing south of Larak Island and proceeding towards the Sea of Oman.
WHY IRAN SHUT THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ
Iran has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz in response to Israeli strikes on Lebanon, Iranian state media reported, as cited by AP.
The closure of the narrow maritime chokepoint disrupted global energy markets and heightened geopolitical tensions across the Middle East.
The strait has remained a central pressure point in the ongoing conflict, with Tehran using control over the passage as leverage amid hostilities involving Israel, the United States and Iran-backed armed groups in the region.
AFP reported that Tehran had blocked the key shipping route since early March, contributing to sharp volatility in global oil prices and raising concerns over supply disruptions worldwide.
CEASEFIRE UNDER STRAIN AMID CONTINUED LEBANON STRIKES
The developments come as the fragile truce between Iran and the United States entered its second day on Thursday, with tensions persisting over continued Israeli military operations in Lebanon.
According to AFP, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said halting Israeli attacks in Lebanon was among the key conditions included in the Islamic Republic’s 10-point proposal aimed at ending the broader Middle East war.
His remarks followed Israel’s largest wave of strikes on Lebanon since fighting resumed earlier this year against Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group.
The Lebanese Health Ministry said at least 182 people were killed and nearly 900 wounded in Wednesday’s bombardment, with the toll expected to rise, AFP reported.
Israel has maintained that its operations against Hezbollah fall outside the scope of the US-Iran ceasefire.
US Vice President JD Vance echoed this position, stating that Washington had never said Lebanon was part of the truce framework.
“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart, over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them, and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” Vance said, according to AFP.
Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that alleged violations of the ceasefire framework could undermine negotiations, saying the “workable basis on which to negotiate” had already been breached.
GLOBAL ENERGY ROUTE REMAINS HIGH-RISK FLASHPOINT
The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world’s most strategically sensitive maritime corridors, carrying about one-fifth of global oil shipments.
Its closure earlier in the conflict triggered economic shockwaves, pushing up energy prices and disrupting shipping flows.
Despite the temporary reopening under the ceasefire arrangement, uncertainty persists over maritime safety due to the threat posed by sea mines and the continuing risk of escalation in the wider regional conflict.
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