Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority declares Hormuz transit 'impossible'

Iran's newly minted Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) said transit through the Strait of Hormuz was not currently possible, citing recent US military activity in the region, in a notice seen by Newsbase on July 12.

The closure followed a sharp escalation on July 12. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had stopped a ship in the strait for ignoring instructions to use an approved route, describing the fire as warning shots, while US Central Command said the vessel had been disabled by fire and damage to its engine room. India said 10 of its nationals had been rescued and one remained missing after the strike off Oman, which the US blamed on Iran.

Transit through the strait was not possible at present due to recent illegal movements by US military forces in the region, the authority said. All requests would be reviewed and the necessary permits issued according to a schedule once stability and calm were restored.

The only channel for obtaining a transit permit was the authority's website, it added.

The PGSA is the body Iran established to administer traffic through the strait under the arrangements following the ceasefire, which require vessels to register and take an approved route close to the Iranian coast rather than the southern route near Oman.

The closure came as Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps declared the strait closed until further notice on July 12, after stopping two vessels it said had violated transit rules.

US Central Command said the US had struck approximately 140 targets in Iran, prompting Iranian missile and drone strikes on US bases and Gulf states including Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Jordan. The strike claims could not be independently verified.

Tanker movements have repeatedly collapsed since the US-Iran war began on February 28, with Iran retaining operational control over transits through the post-ceasefire period and linking the strait's future status to wider negotiations with Washington and Oman.

US Central Command said the US military had struck approximately 140 targets in Iran on July 11 in retaliation for an earlier Iranian attack on a commercial ship, hitting missile and drone sites, naval capabilities, ammunition storage, communication networks and coastal surveillance locations.

Gulf states came under attack as Iran retaliated. Jordan's army said three Iranian missiles had fallen across the kingdom without casualties, Kuwait's military said its air defences were intercepting an ongoing attack, air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain, and the UAE said its defences were engaging threats.

Qatar reported intercepting attacks and said three people had been injured. Explosions were also reported in Kuwait and Bahrain, with drone strikes on Oman's Musandam province overlooking the strait.

The Guards said they had attacked a US base in Qatar and destroyed logistical and refuelling facilities for US aircraft carriers at the port of Duqm in Oman. Oman condemned the attack, which came hours after it hosted Iran's foreign minister for talks on securing shipping through the strait.

Iran and Oman, the two states bordering the waterway, had discussed arrangements for securing shipping through Hormuz in Muscat on July 11, agreeing to continue talks at political and technical-legal levels, with a Qatari delegation attending part of the discussions.