Earlier reports indicated that Iran may have deployed mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
In a media interview on March 12, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ravanchi categorically denied the claim that mines had been laid in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz and said that Iran would allow ships from specific countries to pass through the strait.
Ravanchi noted that a number of countries have consulted and cooperated with Iran on the issue of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, but countries involved in acts of aggression against Iran will not enjoy the ”right of safe passage” in the Strait of Hormuz.
Then came the news from India. According to sources, the Suezmax tanker ”Shenlong”, carrying Saudi crude oil, passed through the strait and arrived at the port of Mumbai on the 12th, becoming the first crude oil carrier from the Middle East to arrive in India successfully since the conflict.
The sources also revealed that Iran has promised to provide safe passage guarantees to Indian-flagged vessels following a call between the foreign ministers of the two countries on Tuesday evening local time.
Also on 12 December, Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mujtaba Khamenei, issued his first major public statement since taking office, emphasizing that Iran would not abandon its position of safeguarding its national interests and would continue to use the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as a means of response.
The statement, which cites this strategic route as a key bargaining chip against external pressures, responds to a series of military actions and pressures by external forces against Iran, aiming to safeguard the country's sovereignty and security.
On the same day, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced that the Revolutionary Guard Navy had used missiles and drones to carry out strikes against the United States Navy's Fifth Fleet base in Bahrain.
The base's anti-drone systems, unmanned surface boat center, logistics equipment center, fuel storage facilities and areas where United States personnel were gathered were all ”precision struck”.
In the face of Iran's tough blockade attitude, the U.S. side of the response is equally tough, although the short-term can not immediately carry out escort operations, but has given a clear timetable for action. March 12, the U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said that the U.S. Navy is ”not yet ready” for the oil tanker convoy through the Strait of Hormuz, and currently all the military resources are focused on weakening Iran's offensive capabilities and its related manufacturing industries. All military resources are currently focused on degrading Iran's offensive capabilities and its related manufacturing industries.
But at the same time revealed that the U.S. military ”likely” before the end of this month to start the Strait of Hormuz escort operation.
Subsequently, there are also plans to gradually shift the military focus to protecting the security of commercial shipping, and even plans to join allies to form an international convoy coalition in an attempt to break Iran's control over this key waterway and stabilize the global energy supply chain.
President Donald Trump previously said the U.S. military and its allies would escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz if needed.
But sources said merchant tankers docked near the strait have requested U.S. military escorts almost every day since the outbreak of the related conflict, but have been denied because the risk is too high.
Author: Kim
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