Qeshm Island, the largest in Iran, is located in the Strait of Hormuz
The Iranian Foreign Minister stated this Thursday that Tehran “has no intention”, at this stage, of closing the Strait of Hormuz, but did not rule out that option if Israel and the United States continue the war.
Earlier this week, the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard told state media that “the Strait of Hormuz is closed and if anyone tries to pass through, the heroes of the Revolutionary Guard and the regular navy will set these ships on fire”.
However, this Thursday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs clarified that, at this stage, Tehran has “no intention” of closing the strait.
“We have no intention of closing the strait at this time,” he said. Abbas Araghchi to the North American channel.
The Strait of Hormuz is a passage between the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf through which 20% of the world’s crude oil transits.
“We didn’t close it. It’s the ships and oil tankers that don’t try to cross itbecause they fear being hit by one side”, he continued.
Also, Iran’s mission in UN had stated that the statements that Tehran had closed the Strait of Hormuz were “unfounded and absurd”despite the fact that the Revolutionary Guard, the regime’s ideological army, has warned that ships passing through there “may be attacked or sunk” – .
War Operations Zone
O Strait of Hormuz and the Persian and Omani Gulfs were classified also, this Thursday, as “war operations zone” by the maritime sector, following a meeting between global unions and employers.
The declaration gives ship crew reinforced rights, including the right to request repatriation at the shipowner’s expense, according to the news agency France-Presse (AFP).
The designation responds to “the scale of disruption and risks faced by civilian crews in the region,” the two parties explained in a joint statement, referring to hundreds of ships blocked due to the war in the Middle East.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) announced today that around 20,000 crew members and 15,000 passengers had been stranded in the Persian Gulf since the start of the Israeli-American offensive against Iran.
