Iran warns against foreign military presence in Strait of Hormuz

Iran has warned against foreign military activity in the Strait of Hormuz, insisting that security of the strategic waterway rests solely with Iran and Oman. The statement came after Britain and France expressed readiness to support freedom of navigation in the strait.

Tehran: A senior Iranian diplomat warned that the Strait of Hormuz is not a “theater” for transregional powers’ military display.

“Iran, as the responsible authority and guarantor of security in the strait, warns against any military movement in the sensitive waterway,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi wrote on social media platform X.

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The strait’s security is the sole responsibility of Iran and Oman, Gharibabadi said, dismissing a joint statement on Friday by outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, Xinhua news agency reported.

In their statement, Starmer and Macron described the waterway as a “vital artery” for the global economy, adding, “Restoring safe transit for ships of all nations through the strait is a matter of global concern.”

They said Oman has agreed to work with Britain and France to ensure “its sovereign territorial waters are safe for navigation,” stressing that Britain and France “also stand ready to deploy the wider Multinational Military Mission to support freedom of navigation” in the strait.

Meanwhile, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency, citing the latest maritime tracking data, reported Saturday that eight vessels seeking to cross the waterway along the coast of Oman were turned back.

Bloomberg reported the same day that some of the vessels “had made it as far as the tip of the Musandam Peninsula that sticks out into the chokepoint, before making sharp reversals.”

“One crude tanker, two products tankers, and one bulk carrier then sailed northward to take an outbound route” as directed by Iran, it reported.

Iran has tightened its grip on the strait since February 28, when it barred safe passage of vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States following their joint strikes on Iranian territory.