|
US Central Command (CENTCOM) has said its forces have redirected 109 commercial vessels amid a continued naval blockade on Iran from Washington, as heightened tensions around the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz disrupt regional shipping.
In a post on X on Sunday (local time), CENTCOM said the latest figure represented vessels redirected to ensure compliance with the US maritime blockade. A U.S. Sailor stands watch aboard USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53). As of Sept. 20, CENTCOM forces have redirected 109 commercial vessels to ensure total compliance, CENTCOM said. The US military resumed enforcement of the blockade against maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports on July 14. CENTCOM has said the measures apply to vessels transiting to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas, while US forces continue to support traffic through regional waters for vessels not violating the blockade. The latest development comes amid escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran, with the Strait of Hormuz at the centre of the confrontation. The waterway is a critical route for global energy shipments, and shipping activity has fallen sharply amid the conflict. Reuters reported that only four commodity vessels transited the strait on September 17, well below the 10-day average of 16. US President Donald Trump on Sunday warned Iran that Washington could take 'significant action' if Tehran does not change its approach to the conflict, while also indicating that he could be open to diplomatic engagement with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during the UN General Assembly in New York. Trump said he was in a decision-making phase over Iran and suggested that very big things could happen in the near future. Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei, meanwhile, said Tehran had conveyed conditions for ending the conflict through Qatari mediation. According to the statement cited in the briefings, Iran is seeking an end to hostilities on all fronts, the release of frozen Iranian funds and an end to the naval blockade. We remain in contact with the mediator Qatar, which has conveyed our conditions to Washington with the aim of ending the war, Rezaei said, adding that Iran was awaiting Trump's response. The maritime confrontation has also coincided with a fresh escalation involving Yemen's Houthi movement. Houthi forces launched missile and drone attacks towards Saudi Arabia, including an attack directed at Riyadh that Saudi forces said was intercepted. (ANI)
|
