Iran says warships barred from Strait of Hormuz, targeting US military

Iran, which reached an agreement with Oman on Monday (local time) on transit through the Strait of Hormuz, said warships are excluded from the arrangement.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi stressed the point Tuesday (local time) on state television, saying merchant vessels entering the Persian Gulf would pass through Iranian territorial waters, while those exiting would travel through a combination of Iranian and Omani waters. The remarks echoed earlier reporting by The Associated Press, which said Iran and Oman had agreed to direct ships through Iranian waters on the way in and Omani waters on the way out, collecting fees for transit management and services.

The statement in effect means US military vessels cannot pass through the strait. The US military, which has been conducting a maritime blockade operation against Iran, is reported to be escorting some commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

Gharibabadi's remarks also served as a warning to vessels seeking to transit the strait under US naval escort without Iranian authorization, reaffirming Tehran's assertion of control over the waterway.

Iran is also waging a diplomatic campaign in response to what the United States has called its "economic isolation operation." Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote to the UN secretary-general, characterizing US sanctions as "economic terrorism" and calling for a probe into the humanitarian harm inflicted on the Iranian people. Iran said the sanctions have damaged sectors — including food, medicine, medical services, energy and transportation — that international law prohibits from being targeted.

Araghchi also urged countries around the world not to recognize or enforce US sanctions, which he said were designed to coerce nations into severing legitimate economic and trade ties with Iran.

Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said the United States and Israel are pressuring the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect Iranian nuclear facilities — claiming Washington and Tel Aviv are pushing the IAEA to verify how much damage their strikes on those facilities have caused.

"Iran is still in a state of war, and the damaged nuclear facilities are not yet safe enough to be inspected," Eslami said. "There is no such protocol at the IAEA either."