Shipping Security in the Strait of Hormuz Lies in Iran's Hands

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi stated on Friday (26/6) 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 social media platform X, Gharibabadi stressed that any credible framework for maritime traffic in the strategic waterway must be based on coordination with Tehran and in line 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 outside the consideration of Iran as a coastal state,” he wrote. He warned that failure to meet these provisions would result in the suspension of established parallel routes. Previously, Iran’s Foreign Ministry 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 strait would be regulated under Article 5 of the MoU. The statement was issued in response to a joint communiqué by the United States and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which called for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and stressed the importance of free, unconditional, and unrestricted freedom of navigation in the strategic waterway. The joint US-GCC statement also rejected the imposition of tariffs, fees, or any attempt 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 after the presidents of both countries signed it electronically.