Strait showdown looms as Iran warns against bypassing Hormuz

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - Boats anchored off Oman’s northern Musandam Peninsula near the Strait of Hormuz on June 27, 2026. Iran launched attacks on US sites in the Gulf in response to American strikes on the country, state media said on June 27, after Washington accused Tehran of attacking one of its cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The trading of fire raised questions about efforts to keep the crucial waterway open while Washington and Tehran negotiate a final settlement to a war that began on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran. — AFP pic

TEHRAN, June 29 — Iran’s top diplomat warned Sunday that any attempt by ships to bypass its preferred route through the Strait of Hormuz would “increase tensions” in the Middle East, as US and Iranian forces again traded attacks.

The exchanges underscored the fragility of a Pakistan-brokered agreement aimed at ending the war launched by the United States and Israel in February that disrupted shipping through the strait and rattled global energy markets.

Although a ceasefire took effect in April, sporadic violence has continued in the Gulf region, with ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz often the spark.

Tehran was angered this week by Oman’s announcement of an alternative route through the strait that hugged the Omani shoreline, which Muscat said was in conjunction with the International Maritime Organization.

Iran has continued to insist on controlling passage through the vital strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas travel in normal times. It did not enjoy such control before the war.

The strait comprises Omani and Iranian territorial waters, but under customary international law the two cannot generally block passage or charge tolls.

Nevertheless, Iran prevented most ships from using the narrow waterway during the war, granting it enormous economic leverage which it appears reluctant to give up.

Tehran’s enforcement of its control has sparked repeated flare-ups with Washington, the latest of which came early Sunday, when US Central Command said it had attacked 10 Iranian military targets over “continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping”.

Iran said it retaliated with strikes against US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain. Both Kuwait and Bahrain denounced the Iranian attacks.

‘Hegemonic dreams’ 

Iran presently insists ships transiting the strait pass through a corridor near its own shores, though this week dozens of vessels have travelled along the opposite side of the waterway, hugging the Omani coast.

“Any attempt to adopt new or separate arrangements compared to what is underway by the Islamic Republic of Iran, will only lead to more complicated situations and delays in the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and will increase the tensions,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.

The published text of the memorandum says Iran will define the future administration of the strait in dialogue with Oman and the other Gulf States, but “in line” with international law.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they were taking measures to control traffic in the strait and that vessels violating those measures would be dealt with more firmly than before.

Mohammad Mokhber, adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, wrote on X that as long as Iran managed the strait, Washington’s “hegemonic dreams in the region will not be realised”.

Experts said there would likely be more Hormuz incidents.

For Iran, “a drawn-out negotiation accompanied by controlled pressure in the strait can work to its advantage”, said HA Hellyer of Royal United Services Institute, a London think tank.

While the tit-for-tat exchanges have largely been without reported casualties, Qatar’s interior ministry said one of its citizens was killed aboard a boat by shrapnel from “military operations in the area”, without providing further details.

The deceased was found Sunday after his boat failed to return to port on Saturday as expected.

Israel strikes Lebanon 

The Israeli army destroyed an extensive tunnel in southern Lebanon on Sunday, with Lebanese state media reporting strikes in the area and Iran-backed Hezbollah saying it reserves the right to respond to those attacks.

“The tunnel, stretching more than 200 metres and reaching a depth of over 25 metres, contained hundreds of weapons as well as several launch shafts intended to target the State of Israel,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement.

In response to the attacks, Hezbollah said it “reiterates that what the enemy has done is a blatant violation of the ceasefire to which it has adhered until now, and that it is monitoring and tracking these violations, and reserves its right to defend its homeland and its people”.

The events unfolded two days after Israel and Lebanon signed a framework agreement, mediated by the US in Washington, aiming to pave the way for peace between the two neighbours, officially at war for decades.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah warned on Sunday of “internal conflict” in Lebanon over the country’s agreement with Israel, predicting the deal – which includes plans to disarm Hezbollah – would not be implemented.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war in early March, when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel in support of Iran, and Israel responded with heavy airstrikes and a ground invasion.

Tehran has insisted on Lebanon being part of the wider peace deal for the Middle East war. — AFP