CENTCOM guided roughly 70 merchant vessels through the Strait of Hormuz over the
past three weeks as negotiations to end the Iran war remain stalled, US
officials said. To avoid detection most ships operated with AIS transponders
switched off. Officials declined to specify vessel types or exact routes but
said at least one corridor was routed well away from the Iranian coast; maritime
analysts say convoys favored routes nearer Oman. US officials warned vessels
approaching Iran without permission are highly likely to be targeted by Iranian
drones or missiles.
