Iran Threatens Strait of Hormuz Shipping Routes as U.S. Peace Talks Face New Strain

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

(Worthy News) – U.S.-Iran peace negotiations faced new turbulence Thursday after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned commercial vessels against using routes outside Tehran’s approved passage through the Strait of Hormuz, while Iranian officials also rejected U.S. claims that unfrozen funds would be used to buy American agricultural products.

The warning came as Washington sought to preserve a fragile memorandum of understanding with Tehran, signed last week, that calls for Iran to move toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz and refrain from imposing fees for at least 60 days while negotiations continue.

According to a statement carried by Iran’s state-affiliated Tasnim news outlet, the IRGC said the only secure route for vessels transiting the strait was through waters coordinated with Iran’s navy.

“This route is unacceptable and extremely dangerous,” the IRGC said. “We warn all vessels to strictly refrain from any movement outside the designated route.”

The statement appeared aimed at alternative routes through Omani waters, where the International Maritime Organization has been helping guide ships stranded in the Persian Gulf since the U.S.-Israeli-Iran war began in late February.

Hours after the Iranian warning, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported that a cargo vessel southeast of Dahit, Oman, had been struck by an unknown projectile. The vessel sustained damage, but no casualties were reported. Authorities said they were investigating the incident.

The IRGC has not claimed responsibility. However, U.S. officials cited by Reuters said Iran fired on the vessel, raising new questions about whether Tehran intends to honor the maritime provisions of the preliminary agreement.

IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said after the incident that the organization would temporarily pause operations in the waters near Oman while it reconfirmed “the necessary safety guarantees” with relevant authorities.

The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world’s most strategically vital waterways, with roughly one-fifth of global oil shipments passing through it. Iran closed the strait in early March after Israeli and U.S. strikes targeted Tehran’s military infrastructure and nuclear weapons capabilities, sending oil prices sharply higher for weeks.

Iran has insisted it will maintain control over the waterway and has floated a framework under which vessels would pay fees for navigation and security services. U.S. and European leaders have rejected that demand, arguing that Tehran has no legal right to charge tolls on an international maritime route.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who wrapped up a three-day visit to Gulf states on Thursday, said Washington would not accept any Iranian attempt to impose fees on ships using the strait.

“You can call it a toll, you can call it a fee — whatever you want to call it, it’s a game of semantics,” Rubio said. “The reality of it is that no country on Earth has a right to charge for the use of international waterways, and that will never be an acceptable condition of any deal.”

Rubio’s trip was aimed at reassuring Gulf allies that the U.S.-Iran memorandum would not come at the expense of regional security. Gulf leaders have pressed Washington for guarantees that any final agreement will address Iran’s ballistic missile program, drone capabilities and support for proxy forces across the Middle East, including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis.

The current memorandum does not directly resolve those issues, even though dismantling or severely limiting Iran’s missile and drone program was one of the Trump administration’s stated war goals. President Donald Trump said last week he could potentially support Iran retaining some ballistic missiles because other regional nations also possess them, a position likely to draw scrutiny from Israel and Iran’s Arab neighbors.

Meanwhile, Washington and Tehran continued to clash publicly over frozen Iranian assets.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a key figure in the talks, rejected U.S. claims that released Iranian funds would be used to buy American farm goods.

“America falsely claims our unfrozen assets will buy their agriculture. Interesting,” Ghalibaf wrote on X. “The only crop we’re harvesting is what you planted: decades of mistrust.”

The memorandum states that the United States and Iran must “mutually agree on the procedures related to the release of these funds” before Tehran can access nearly $24 billion in frozen assets.

Trump administration officials have said the funds would be released only under strict conditions and used for purposes approved by Washington. Vice President J.D. Vance said earlier this week that if Iranian assets are released, they could be directed toward purchases of American agricultural products, including food for the Iranian people.

The dispute underscores the depth of mistrust that continues to shadow the negotiations. While the memorandum has temporarily opened a diplomatic channel, Iran’s threats in the Strait of Hormuz, its refusal to accept U.S. limits on asset use, and unresolved questions over missiles and proxies suggest that a final agreement remains far from certain.

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