Iran warns against Hormuz crossings without authorisation

An oil tanker navigates the strait, reportedly hugging the western coast, despite threats from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) have warned against any crossings of the Strait of Hormuz without authorisation, saying vessels not complying “will be dealt with” and criticising a new route through the waterway.The future of the strait, a vital route for energy shipments that was effectively blocked by Iran during the more than 100-day war between the United States and Iran, is a key sticking point in negotiations between the sides.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Has the worst of the Hormuz crisis passed?list 2 of 4UN starts evacuating 11,000 stranded sailors from Strait of Hormuzlist 3 of 4US Senate votes to pass Iran war powers resolution in blow to Trumplist 4 of 4Rubio says Iran cannot charge tolls in Hormuz: What we knowend of listTehran has said it plans to impose what it calls maritime service fees in the future, as opposed to tolls, while the United States argues it is an international waterway and therefore passage should not be subject to charges.“The only authorised route for passage through the Strait of Hormuz is the route announced by the Iran" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="8614" data-entity-type="organization">Islamic Republic of Iran,” the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of Iran’s military, said on Thursday.Any crossing without authorisation is “unacceptable and extremely dangerous”, they warned in a statement.They also denounced what they said was a new route through the waterway announced by “certain authorities”, without elaborating.Tanker’s crossingThe warning comes after a Liberian oil tanker made its way out of the strait on Thursday using a route close to Oman’s shore.The Stoic Warrior – signalling that it planned to transit the Strait of Hormuz – set off early on Thursday morning on a trip that saw it hug the coast of the United Arab Emirates and then Oman, according to The Associated Press news agency.AP said that the vessel then travelled around Oman’s Musandam Peninsula fairly close to the shore, part of a route that Oman laid out alongside the International Maritime Organization, an agency of the United Nations that oversees shipping at sea.