Iranian Authority Says Navigation in Strait of Hormuz Currently Impossible

Tehran (ANTARA) - Iran’s Persian Gulf Shipping Authority (PGSA) announced on Sunday (12/7) that, due to the ‘illegal movements’ of the United States military in the region, the waterway is currently impossible to traverse.

The announcement was made in a post on the social media platform X, stating: ‘Once stability and calm are restored, all applications (to transit the Strait of Hormuz) will be reviewed according to schedule, and the necessary permits will be issued.’

The PGSA stressed that the only way to obtain a permit to cross the strait is through its official website.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X early on Sunday local time that its forces had completed a third round of strikes against Iran this week, which ‘held Iranian forces accountable for attacks on other commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz’.

In the early hours of Sunday, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said in a statement that, after firing warning shots, it intercepted and halted a vessel that was ‘committing a violation’ in the Strait of Hormuz. The vessel was suspected of having switched off its navigation systems, according to the statement.

The IRGC later said its forces had also targeted and halted a second vessel described as ‘committing a violation’ in those waters while launching retaliatory attacks against US bases in the region.