Iran threatens force against tankers on unapproved Hormuz routes

On July 2, Iran's joint military command put the shipping world on notice. Tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz must follow routes approved by Tehran, it said. Any deviation would be met with what the statement called an immediate and forceful response from its armed forces.

Tehran went further. US forces in the strait would face a rapid and decisive reaction if they interfere, the command said.

The warning landed a day after negotiations in Doha between US and Iranian officials ended without a permanent agreement on how the strait would be managed. Iran had insisted on controlling which routes tankers take through the waterway, a position that runs counter to how this passage has operated for decades and that the Doha talks could not resolve. The strait, a narrow passage at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, handles roughly a fifth of the world's oil supply.

Under a temporary deal reached earlier this year, tankers get 60 days of fee-free passage. Tehran still insists on designating the routes. Now it has warned, in plain terms, that tankers ignoring those routes will be treated as threats.

Shipping volumes through the strait remain well below normal. Iran's July 2 statement has added a military dimension to what had been, until now, a dispute playing out at the diplomatic level.