The status of the Strait of Hormuz is unclear after Iranian media outlets released conflicting reports regarding whether or not oil tankers were being allowed to transit the waterway on Wednesday.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Navy posted a map showing alternative shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz to help transiting ships avoid naval mines, the semi-official Iranian news agency ISNA said early on Thursday.
The status of the Strait of Hormuz is unclear after Iranian media outlets released conflicting reports regarding whether or not oil tankers were being allowed to transit the waterway on Wednesday.
According to Iranian state-owned Press TV, the strait has been fully closed, and all tankers attempting to pass through have been turned around.
Shortly before Press TV declared the closure, Iranian state-owned Student News Network (SSN) reported that safe passage routes through the Strait of Hormuz have been designated and must be used by ships in coordination with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The organization said that the safe entry path is from the Sea of Oman towards the north of Larak Island, while the safe exit path from the Gulf passes south of Larak Island and towards the Sea of Oman.
Greek PM says tolls for ships to cross Hormuz would be unacceptable, a risk to freedom of navigation
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday it would be unacceptable for ships to have to pay a fee to cross the Strait of Hormuz as Iran has suggested, and such a move would set a dangerous precedent for freedom of navigation.
The Iran war has threatened Gulf ports and disrupted global trade through the strait, a waterway through which a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes.
Greece controls one of the largest merchant fleets globally in terms of cargo-carrying capacity.
Iran closes Strait of Hormuz over strikes on Hezbollah
Earlier on Wednesday, IRGC-tied outlet Fars News reported that Iran had once again closed the Strait of Hormuz, blocking oil tankers from transiting the waterway, in retaliation for Israeli strikes on Hezbollah.
Oil tankers attempting to transit the strait received threatening messages from the Iranian Navy, according to several shipping sources.
"Any vessel trying to travel into the sea... will be targeted and destroyed..." the message, which was received by several vessels, said.