Iran and Chinese ships also blocked… “Opening Hormuz, Trump’s lie”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps again announced on the 27th (local time) that it would ban passage through the Strait of Hormuz for ships traveling to and from ports allied to the United States and Israel.
The Revolutionary Guard claimed in a statement that day, “US President Donald Trump lied when he said, ‘The Strait of Hormuz is open.’” He continued, “After President Trump’s remarks, three container ships of different nationalities received permission from Iran and headed to the designated route, but all turned back after receiving a warning from the Revolutionary Guard Navy.”
The Revolutionary Guard warned that “the Strait of Hormuz is closed and any vessel attempting to pass through it will face a harsh response.”
The Revolutionary Guard also revealed the routes of three ships that moved from the Gulf waters toward the Strait of Hormuz and then turned back.
Among the vessels revealed, the ‘Arctic Ocean‘ and the ‘Indian Ocean’ are Hong Kong-flagged container ships chartered by the Chinese shipping company COSCO. The two ships are known to have recently stopped at ports in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.
The remaining vessel is the Marshall Islands-shipped bulk carrier ‘Lotus Rising‘, and is said to have been chartered by a Chinese capital company.
These three ships displayed the signal ‘Chinese ship owner and Chinese crew’ on the Automatic Identification System (AIS), but ultimately did not receive permission to enter the Strait of Hormuz.
This announcement came a day after President Trump said at a cabinet meeting the previous day, “Iran allowed the passage of 10 oil tankers as a sign of good faith in the previous negotiations,” and “Once an agreement is reached, the Strait of Hormuz will be completely opened.”
However, the Revolutionary Guard immediately denied this and reaffirmed its policy of blocking the strait. The war of nerves between the United States and Iran over whether to open the Strait of Hormuz and end-of-war negotiations appears to be intensifying.
Reporter Lee Sang-mok mrlsm@etnews.com
