Iran warns of reciprocal action if US blockade on its ports continues

Esmaeil Baghaei. File pic

Iran has warned that it will take reciprocal measures if the United States continues its maritime blockade targeting Iranian ports, even as it outlined conditions for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reported.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei offered clarification on an earlier statement by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Al Jazeera reported, citing the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

According to Al Jazeera, Baghaei said that "Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz will be allowed along a pre-determined route by Iran." He added, "If the maritime blockade of Iran's ports continues, Iran will take reciprocal measures," and asserted that "Iran is the guardian of the Strait of Hormuz and will show leniency where necessary."

Separately, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy detailed conditions for vessels seeking to transit through the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reported.

As per Al Jazeera, it stated that all ships would require its permission to pass, with civilian vessels allowed only through designated Iranian routes, while military vessels remain barred from transit.

"Movements will only be permitted with the permission of the IRGC Navy", it added, as per Al Jazeera.

"This movement is in line with the agreement on the period of silence on the battlefield and after the implementation of the Lebanese ceasefire," the IRGC Navy Command added in a statement, according to Al Jazeera.

The announcement comes after Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, who had earlier said on X that passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz during the ceasefire was "completely open".

"In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep. of Iran," Aragchi wrote on X.

The strategic waterway had been obstructed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) following joint US and Israeli airstrikes on Tehran on February 28.

As a conduit for 20 per cent of the world's crude oil and liquefied natural gas, the disruption to the Strait of Hormuz has had significant global economic repercussions, impacting supply chains and energy prices worldwide.

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