IRGC Navy rejects Oman's new Hormuz corridor, warns of 'enforcement measures'
A day after Oman and the IMO opened a fee-free transit route, Iran's Guards call it 'unacceptable' and demand mandatory coordination on Channel 16
Summary
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Navy on June 25 rejected the new Strait of Hormuz transit corridor that Oman and the International Maritime Organization opened a day earlier, calling it "unacceptable and dangerous." The Guards said any route set up without Tehran's coordination is unauthorised and that passage requires mandatory contact via radio Channel 16, threatening "enforcement measures" against vessels in violation. Oman had announced the fee-free corridor, with two lanes north and south of the main channel, to evacuate over 11,000 stranded seafarers under the June 17 ceasefire. The clash exposes who controls passage through the waterway even as shipping recovers.
Why it matters
The corridor was the first concrete step to reopen Oil flows through the world's most important chokepoint. Iran's insistence on coordination rights keeps a hand on the valve and signals that the deal's navigation terms are unsettled, leaving tanker owners exposed to a sudden re-escalation.
What to watch
- Whether tankers use the Omani lanes or default to coordinating with the IRGC.
- Any Iranian interdiction or warning shot against a vessel ignoring Channel 16.
- The Oman-Iran joint working group on future Hormuz navigation and fees.