Tehran: Hormuz passage 'cannot be assured' without coordination with Iran
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters a day earlier that if Iran threatened or blocked ships in the strait, 'we're going to have a problem'
Tehran on Friday restated what it said was its authority over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, while cautioning Gulf states against aligning with Washington. The remarks came a day after an apparent Iranian attack on a vessel near Oman underscored how tenuous a preliminary agreement to end the war remained.
Iran was reacting to a joint statement by the United States and the six Gulf states, which Tehran denounced as “interventionist, irresponsible and provocative.” The statement rejected Iran’s claim that it could impose tolls on ships passing through the strategic waterway.
Safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz cannot be guaranteed under ambiguous arrangements, parallel routes or decision-making that does not take Iran's role as a coastal state into account," Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on X.
https://x.com/i/web/status/2070435843907473625
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Underscoring the risks to shipping, Iranian state TV later said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had warned off three foreign tankers attempting what it described as an “unauthorized passage” through the strait. The report said the vessels turned back, but provided no further details.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio — wrapping up a tour of the Gulf to reassure nervous regional allies about the interim pact — told reporters on Thursday that if Iran threatened or blocked ships in the strait, "we're going to have a problem."
In their joint statement, Rubio and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) called for "free, unconditional, and unrestricted navigation" in the strait without tolls or "attempts to assert control", and said a lasting peace must address Iran's ballistic missiles, drones and support for proxy groups.
Iran's foreign ministry responded on Friday by saying the U.S. military presence in the Gulf was the source of regional insecurity and division, and that the strait should be governed by Iran and Oman in line with the terms of the interim deal.