Luojiashan tanker sits anchored in Muscat, as Iran vows to close the Strait of Hormuz, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Muscat, Oman, March 7, 2026. REUTERS\/Benoit Tessier<\/p>\n
Iran Requiring IRGC Coordination for Hormuz Transits<\/p>\n
DUBAI, April 17 (Reuters)\u00a0\u2013\u00a0All ships can sail through the<\/p>\n
but\u00a0this needs\u00a0to be coordinated with Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary GuardCorps (IRGC), a senior Iranian official told Reuters, adding that unfreezing Iranian funds was part of the\u00a0deal.<\/p>\n
Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi wrote on X that the\u00a0strait\u00a0was open after a\u00a0ceasefire accord\u00a0was agreed in Lebanon, while U.S. President Donald Trump said he believed a deal to end the Iran war would come \u201csoon,\u201d although the timing remains unclear.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Iranian\u00a0official said transits would be restricted to lanes that Iran deemed safe, adding that military vessels were still prohibited from crossing the\u00a0strait.<\/p>\n
It was not immediately clear if this included or excluded the established Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) lanes for entering and exiting the Gulf used by international shipping since the 1970s.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven U.S. vessels would be permitted, excluding military ships,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The official added that certain routes through\u00a0Hormuz\u00a0would remain open, but added that those would need to be determined as secure by Iran.<\/p>\n
\u201cNavigation would take place in coordination with Iran, and with authorisation from the Guards and Iran\u2019s Ports and Maritime Organization to ensure the safety of shipping,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n
Shipping industry associations said they were reviewing the situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are currently verifying the recent announcement related to the reopening of the\u00a0Strait\u00a0of\u00a0Hormuz, in terms of its compliance with freedom of navigation for all merchant vessels and secure passage,\u201d Arsenio Dominguez, secretary-general of UN shipping agency the International Maritime Organization (IMO), said separately.<\/p>\n