Iran said it allowed ships from some countries to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, amid the conflict with the United States and Israel, but indicated that nations considered aligned with the military offensive may not benefit from safe transit through the strategic route. The waterway, crucial to the global oil trade, has remained restricted since hostilities began.
In an interview with AFPIran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said that Tehran has been cooperating with certain countries that have requested passage. “Some countries have already spoken to us about crossing the Strait and we cooperate with them,” he said. According to him, “the countries that joined the aggression should not benefit from safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.”
Takht-Ravanchi also denied that Iran is installing mines in the sea, after United States President Donald Trump stated that American forces struck 28 Iranian vessels used for this type of operation. “No way. That’s not true,” he told AFP.
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The vice foreign minister added that Iran seeks assurances that the country will not face war again in the future. “We want to see that a war will not be imposed on Iran again,” he said, recalling that, after a temporary ceasefire last year, the adversaries “regrouped and did it again.”
I and Reuters reported that Indian-flagged oil tankers may receive authorization to cross the Strait of Hormuz, according to an Indian government source. The information, however, was contested by an Iranian source outside the country, who stated that there was no formal agreement.
According to the Indian government, the foreign ministers of the two countries spoke three times in recent days, discussing navigation safety and Indian energy supplies. Also on Thursday, the tanker Shenlong, which transports Saudi oil, arrived at the port of Mumbai after crossing the strait, becoming the first crude oil ship to arrive in the country since the start of the conflict, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters.
