JERUSALEM, Israel – Just days after Washington and Tehran announced new agreements to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and reduce regional tensions, Iran and the United States are now sending sharply different messages.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is warning commercial ships, while U.S. officials insist that international navigation will remain free.
The IRGC used a drone to strike a Singapore-flagged cargo ship in the Strait. According to U.S. sources, the strike hit the vessel’s bridge near Oman’s coast. British maritime authorities reported no injuries but confirmed damage to the ship.
Hours before the strike, the IRGC Navy announced that “safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz is only possible via the routes designated by the Islamic Republic of Iran.”