Al Jazeera reported a vessel grounded in the Strait of Hormuz after reportedly
not following Iran’s ‘approved’ transit route; details are still emerging and
the extent of damage is unclear. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
navy has repeatedly warned masters, owners and shipping companies that deviating
from designated routes in the Persian Gulf when entering or leaving could
trigger irreversible incidents. The report did not link the grounding to recent
Iranian attacks on two vessels that transited without Tehran’s permission, one
of which was carrying Qatari crude.
