Iran Says Hormuz Shipping Cannot Be Guaranteed Without Coordination

Istanbul (ANTARA) - Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, stated on Friday that safe shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz cannot be guaranteed through ambiguous arrangements or parallel routes designed without considering Tehran’s position as a coastal state.

In a post on the social media platform X, Gharibabadi emphasised that any credible framework for maritime traffic in these strategic waters must be based on coordination with Tehran and align with Article 5 of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Iran and the United States.

“Safe shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz cannot be guaranteed through ambiguous arrangements, parallel routes, or decision-making that excludes Iran’s considerations as a coastal state,” he wrote.

He warned that if these provisions are not met, it could result in the suspension of established parallel routes.

Previously, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the Strait of Hormuz lies within the territorial waters of Iran and Oman. The Ministry added that the management of shipping in the area would be regulated based on Article 5 of the aforementioned MoU.

This statement was issued in response to a joint communique from the United States and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which called for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and emphasised the importance of free, unconditional, and unrestricted freedom of navigation in the strategic waterway.

The US-GCC joint statement also rejected the imposition of tariffs, fees, or any attempts to enforce control over the Strait of Hormuz.

The Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Iran officially came into effect on 18 June, following the electronic signing by the presidents of both nations.