An oil tanker navigates the Strait of Hormuz despite threats from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A Liberian oil tanker made its way out of the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday despite threats to shipping from Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, using a new route close to Oman’s shore that has been promoted by a U.N. maritime agency.

The transit of the Stoic Warrior and the threats come as tensions rise between Iran and the United States over the terms of their interim accord aimed at permanently ending the Iran war.

From getting ships through the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf to the future of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, the two nations are increasingly debating the terms of the deal signed last week.

Through the signing of the memorandum of understanding, the U.S. and Iran agreed to a 60-day period to iron out these and other details. Until that happens — during private talks — leaders from both countries will also continue to negotiate in public, raising the risks of derailing the shaky ceasefire in the region.

On a trip to the Middle East, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke Thursday with Gulf Arab officials in Bahrain, the island kingdom in the Persian Gulf home to the Navy’s 5th Fleet, trying to assuage their concerns.

The flareup of fighting in Lebanon between Israel and the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah has threatened the deal. On Wednesday, Israel launched an airstrike that killed two people in southern Lebanon, the country’s state-run news agency said. It was Israel’s first airstrike on Lebanon since the latest ceasefire took effect on Saturday.

Tanker sails through Strait of Hormuz

The Stoic Warrior — signaling that it planned to transit the Strait of Hormuz — took off early Thursday morning along the coast of the United Arab Emirates and then Oman.

The vessel then traveled around Oman’s Musandam Peninsula fairly close to the shore, part of a route that Oman laid out alongside the International Maritime Organization, an agency of the United Nations that oversees shipping at sea.

North of the route is the Traffic Separation Scheme, the route in the center of the strait that for decades ships moved through freely. The route is used for transport of about a fifth of all the world’s oil and natural gas.

However, there has been the report of at least one mine sighted in the water after the Guard said that it mined the passage during the war that started on Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. The threat of mines shut off the route.

Even before the deal, some ships had been getting out of the strait, with U.S. military support. But the U.N. agency’s effort is the latest to free trapped vessels. The shipping company Maersk said Thursday that its container ship the Maersk Baltimore and another chartered vessel had also made it out the strait.

The naval arm of the Revolutionary Guard, apparently reacting to the new IMO’s route, issued an angry warning Thursday, carried by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.

“A few hours ago, without notice or coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran, some authorities announced a new route for ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, which is unacceptable and completely dangerous,” the Guard said.

“It is hereby notified to all that the only authorized route for passing through the Strait of Hormuz is the one declared by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the Iranian force said. “Vessel traffic outside these routes is extremely dangerous and prohibited.”

“Violators will be dealt with,” it added, without elaborating.

There were no immediate reports of any incidents in the strait as the Stoic Warrior passed. Several ships trailed behind it, according to ship-tracking data.

Anwar Gargash, a senior Emirati diplomat, warned Iran on Thursday over trying to impede the strait or put fees on vessels plying its waters.

“New geopolitical facts cannot be imposed on the Arab Gulf states as a result of a treacherous aggression against them,” Gargash wrote on X. “It sows new seeds of discord and conflict for the future. And this is precisely what applies to the Strait of Hormuz.”

Rubio holds talks in Bahrain

The U.S. secretary of state met with foreign ministers from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, trying to assure them their interests would be protected in any agreement reached with Iran, including when it comes to the Strait of Hormuz.

“We want to ensure that in any decisions that are made throughout this negotiating process, the interest of our partners and our allies in the region are always taken into account,” Rubio said. “There is no part in this deal that’s undertaken that in any way undermines the security, the stability of the prosperity of any of our partners in the Gulf region.”

The GCC countries have expressed reservations about the limitation of the U.S.-Iran deal signed last week, including conflicting claims over the strait and the fact that the memorandum of understanding does not specifically cover Iran’s nuclear or ballistic missile programs.

Thursday’s meeting in Manama, Bahrain’s capital, came ahead of an expected meeting in Oman between the GCC and Iran to discuss maritime security and safety in the strait.

Speaking on behalf of the GCC, Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani thanked the U.S. for its support, saying that because of the agreement, “today we see a glimmer of hope for our region” but stressed that Iran must comply with its commitments.

“While this progress is encouraging, it is critically important that Iran adheres to its obligations,” al-Zayani said.

Lebanon remains a flashpoint

Israel’s military said on Thursday that a reservist soldier was killed and another hurt in southern Lebanon, where troops are occupying swaths of the country. At least 37 soldiers have been killed in Lebanon or northern Israel during the fighting, as well one civilian defense contractor. Two civilians in northern Israel have also been killed.

Over 4,000 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli strikes since this latest Israel-Hezbollah war began in March, two days after the Iran war started and when the Lebanese militant group fired at Israel.

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Lee reported from Manama, Bahrain. Associated Press writer Julia Frankel in Jerusalem contributed to this report.