Iran says ‘non-hostile’ ships can pass safely through Strait of Hormuz

Tehran’s statement on opening of key waterway comes as US President Donald Trump says talks are taking place to end the war.Iran has said that “non-hostile” ships may transit the Strait of Hormuz amid a collapse of maritime traffic through the waterway that has prompted the biggest global energy crisis in decades.In a statement on Tuesday, Iran’s mission to the United Nations said vessels may avail of “safe passage” through the waterway, “provided that they neither participate in nor support acts of aggression against Iran and fully comply with the declared safety and security regulations.”Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Explosion, fire at Erbil high-rise amid Iranian attackslist 2 of 4Trump keeps up claims of talks with ‘the right people’ in Iranlist 3 of 4Activists label Larry Ellison’s yacht ‘The Trump Propagandist’list 4 of 4Russian weapons, tactics seen in Ukraine are shaping Myanmar’s civil warend of listShips will be allowed to transit the strait “in coordination with the competent Iranian authorities”, the statement posted on social media said.Iran earlier shared a similar statement about the status of the strait with the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the UN body responsible for the safety and security of international shipping.Tehran did not elaborate in the statements on what regulations vessels need to follow to safely navigate the strait, through which about one-fifth of global supplies of oil and liquified natural gas usually transit.Iran’s remarks came as United States President Donald Trump said negotiations were under way to end the US-Israel war on Iran, despite Tehran’s previous denials that the sides were in talks.While a small number of ships are passing through the strait each day, traffic remains at a fraction of the levels seen before the US and Israel launched their war on Iran on February 28.Five vessels were tracked transiting the waterway via their automatic identification systems on Monday, down from an average of 120 daily transits before the conflict, according to maritime intelligence firm Windward.