ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The US military said Saturday that it has redirected 100 commercial vessels over the past two months as part of its blockade of Iranian ports, amid heightened tensions over the Strait of Hormuz.
“ZERO ships have passed through the blockade without US forces allowing,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on X. “American service members remain laser focused on this mission.”
Following the launch of a large-scale US-Israeli military campaign against Iran in late February, Tehran blocked the Strait of Hormuz, prompting Washington to seek to prevent ships from traveling to and from Iranian ports in an effort to deprive Tehran of revenue.
Since the outbreak of the war, Iran has sought to formalize its control over the strategic waterway, including potentially imposing passage fees, while continuing to require authorization for some commercial vessels.
Meanwhile, Bahrain said Saturday it would not participate in a proposed Oman-hosted meeting with Iran on the future of the waterway. Manama called for Hormuz to remain open without “discrimination, fees or permits.”
“The Kingdom will not be party to any multilateral meeting that includes Iran prior to the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries,” Bahrain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, adding that the kingdom had been subjected to “attacks targeting its infrastructure and civilian objects.”
The ministry said any arrangement concerning navigation in the Strait of Hormuz must comply with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and guarantee “transit passage for all vessels” without “discrimination, fees, or permits.”
Tensions around the waterway, a major energy chokepoint through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies pass, have escalated in recent weeks following the renewed tensions between the US and Iran.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said Thursday that two vessels were struck by unknown projectiles while transiting near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz.
“The Master of the vessel reports seeing four unknown projectiles hit two unknown vessels, causing a fire on one vessel,” UKMTO said, adding that the status of the second vessel was unknown. Authorities were investigating the incident, it said.
The reports followed several explosions along Iran’s southern coast, including near Qeshm, Sirik and Minab. Iranian state media reported that some of the blasts came from the direction of the sea.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also said Wednesday that it had targeted US vessels and commercial ships attempting to cross what it described as a “prohibited and unsafe zone” in the strait.
