Photo credit: APDUBAI: Iran’s joint military command warned on Thursday that all oil tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz must use its approved routes or face a “forceful response,” ratcheting up tensions again over a waterway crucial for international energy supplies. The strait, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, has emerged as one of the top issues in negotiations seeking a permanent end to the Iran war. The statement from the Khatam al-Anbiya military command, reported by Iranian state television, comes after both US and Iranian diplomats met with mediators Wednesday in Qatar.It wasn’t immediately clear what sparked the threat from Iran. However, the US military’s Central Command had put out a statement about a meeting with officials from West Asian nations in Bahrain that said “leaders underscored their shared commitment to the free flow of commerce through” the strait.That appears to have been the phrase that angered Iran. “Any failure to comply, deviation from the designated route, or disregard for the navigation protocols of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Strait of Hormuz will be met with an immediate and forceful response from the armed forces, endangering the security of the violating vessels,” the Iranian statement said. It also said the continued presence of US fighter jets over the strait “causes insecurity in this waterway and threatens regional security.”