Iran's IRGC warned on Thursday that all vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz must use routes designated by Tehran and that any ship navigating outside those routes was doing so illegally, directly challenging Oman's announcement of a new temporary corridor running close to its own coast.
"All parties are hereby informed that the only authorized routes for passing through the Strait of Hormuz are those announced by the Islamic Republic of Iran," the IRGC said in a statement.
"Navigation outside these designated routes is highly dangerous and prohibited," the statement warned.
The statement said a route announced hours earlier — which it did not name but that matched Oman's proposed corridor — was "unacceptable and completely dangerous" and had been decided on "without prior notice or coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran."
“Violators will be dealt with,” it added without elaborating.
