Iran warns against alternative Strait of Hormuz routes

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has warned that any attempt to bypass Tehran’s approved shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz would heighten tensions across the Middle East.

Meanwhile, Iran and the United States exchanged fresh attacks and accused each other of breaching a fragile ceasefire.

Speaking during a visit to Baghdad on Saturday, Araghchi said any move to introduce alternative maritime arrangements without Iran’s approval would complicate efforts to restore normal shipping through the strategic waterway.

“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 tensions,” he told a joint press conference.

His remarks came after reports that commercial vessels continued to use a shipping corridor not endorsed by Tehran.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed Oman and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) had introduced the route without consulting Iran and warned vessels against using it.

The warning followed a sharp escalation in hostilities. The US military said it had carried out fresh strikes on multiple Iranian targets after a tanker was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, accusing Tehran of continued aggression against commercial shipping.

Iran responded by launching missile and drone attacks against US military facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain.

The latest violence has further undermined an interim peace agreement intended to halt the conflict that began on 28 February and pave the way for negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme and regional security.

Araghchi urged all parties to respect the memorandum of understanding underpinning the ceasefire and called for a new regional security framework involving Gulf states, Iran and Iraq, without outside interference.

“We should reach a new framework that includes all countries in the region and without the presence or interference of any country from outside the region,” he said, welcoming Iraq’s proposal to host a regional security meeting.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump warned that Washington could take further military action if Iran failed to comply with the interim agreement.

“There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable,” Trump wrote on social media, adding that the United States would act decisively if Iran continued its attacks.

The IRGC said the latest US strikes had violated the ceasefire and warned they would bring diplomatic efforts to a halt.

However, US officials said there were no reported American casualties or significant damage following Iran’s attacks on military installations in the Gulf.
The conflict has also spread beyond the Gulf.

Israel said it carried out strikes against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon on Saturday, despite a separate ceasefire agreement reached with Lebanon a day earlier.

Iran insisted that halting Israeli operations in Lebanon was an essential part of maintaining the wider regional truce.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which around one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies normally pass, remains a focal point of the crisis.

Although some commercial shipping has resumed in recent weeks, maritime traffic continues to face significant disruption amid ongoing military tensions and competing proposals over navigation routes.