Iran, on Thursday, announced alternative shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, warning of risks from possible sea mines in its main transit channel. The move comes as Tehran has agreed to temporarily reopen the vital waterway, following a two-week ceasefire deal with the United States.
The strait, which carries about 20% world's oil, remains blocked by Iran since the Feb. 28 strikes by the US and Israel. The situation has led to a global energy crisis, pressuring the US to reach a deal with Iran to reopen the route.
While reopening it, Iranian authorities said that vessels must follow designated alternative paths to ensure maritime safety.
“All ships intending to transit the Strait of Hormuz are hereby notified that in order to comply with the principles of maritime safety and to be protected from possible collisions with sea mines...they should take alternative routes for traffic in the Strait of Hormuz," Iran's Revolutionary Guards was quoted as saying by news agency AFP.
The ceasefire between Iran and the United States was reached late Tuesday through Pakistan. It followed hours before US President Donald Trump's deadline for potential military action if Tehran failed to comply with demands to reopen the strait.
However, just a day later, the deal came under strain as Iran accused the US of violating the terms. It said that Israel continues to strike Lebanon, breaching the key clauses of the ceasefire terms, making it "unreasonable."
Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf criticised the US on Wednesday, accusing it of a proxy war through Israel despite a ceasefire announcement.
In a separate X post, Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi also blamed the US, demanding that it must pick either ceasefire or war via Israel.
“The US must choose: ceasefire or continued war via Israel. It cannot have both. The world sees the massacres in Lebanon. The ball is in the US court, and the world is watching whether it will act on its commitments,” he posted on X. Notably, top US and Iranian leaders are expected to meet in Pakistan's Islamabad on Friday to reach a deal to end the weeks-long conflict.
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