Iran Warns Against New Strait of Hormuz Route as US Truce Falters

Iran’s top diplomat issued a stark warning on Sunday that any attempt to establish alternative shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz outside of arrangements agreed with Tehran would deepen instability across the Middle East — as the United States and Iran continued to exchange strikes and mutual accusations of ceasefire violations, pushing a fragile Pakistan-brokered peace agreement to the brink of collapse.

Iran Draws a Hard Line on Hormuz

Speaking publicly, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made Tehran’s position unambiguous. “Any attempt to adopt new or separate arrangements compared to what is underway by the Islamic Republic of Iran, will only lead to more complicated situations and delays in the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and will increase the tensions,” he said.

He further called on all parties to honor existing commitments, urging them to “adhere to the memorandum of understanding and not to allow this MoU to deviate from its course.”

The warning followed Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announcing on Sunday that they were implementing measures to control vessel traffic through the strait — a critical global waterway through which approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas exports pass during peacetime. The Guards cautioned that vessels in violation of Tehran’s designated corridor would be dealt with more firmly than before.

The dispute was triggered after the Guards accused Oman and the International Maritime Organization of announcing a new shipping corridor through the strait without consulting Tehran. Iran has insisted that the only authorized passage runs along a corridor following Iran’s own coastline.

Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, reinforced the message on social media platform X, writing that as long as Iran managed the strait, the United States’ “hegemonic dreams in the region will not be realised.”

The MoU and Its Fragile Foundations

Under the memorandum of understanding reached this month as part of broader efforts to establish a lasting end to the conflict, Iran had agreed to allow “safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge, for 60 days only, from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman, and vice versa” through the strait. The agreement also committed both the United States and Iran — along with their respective allies — to “not initiate any war or any military operation against each other and to refrain from the threat or use of force against each other.”

Despite a ceasefire having formally taken effect in April, sporadic violence has continued across the Gulf region. On Sunday, Iran announced it had carried out retaliatory strikes against US military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain in response to what it described as American attacks. Bahrain denounced what it called “treacherous Iranian attacks,” stating its air defenses had intercepted incoming missiles and drones. Kuwait similarly condemned what it described as “Iran’s heinous aggression… the latest of which was at dawn.”

Trump Warns Iran of Annihilation

The exchanges followed US forces announcing they had struck what they described as “multiple” Iranian targets on Saturday — itself framed as a response to Iranian attacks on shipping in the strait. US President Donald Trump escalated the rhetoric significantly, warning that Iran would “no longer exist” if Washington were forced to resume full-scale military operations.

“United States aircraft just struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations, and coastal radar sites, for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, AGAIN!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. US Central Command attributed the strikes to an Iranian drone attack on the Panama-flagged oil tanker “Kiku.” Similar US strikes had also been carried out on Friday.

Regional analysts cautioned that further incidents in and around the strait were likely. Hellyer of London’s Royal United Services Institute noted that for Iran, “a drawn-out negotiation accompanied by controlled pressure in the strait can work to its advantage.”

Israel Strikes Lebanon as Hezbollah Rejects Deal

Adding further complexity to the regional picture, Israel launched fresh strikes against Lebanon on Sunday after Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected a deal aimed at ending that separate but interconnected conflict. Iran condemned the Israeli strikes as “a blatant violation” of the truce agreement.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah warned of “internal conflict” in Lebanon over the country’s agreement with Israel, predicting the deal — signed in Washington on Friday and including provisions to disarm the Iran-backed militant group — would not be implemented.

Lebanon had been drawn into the broader Middle East war in early March when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel in solidarity with Iran, prompting a heavy Israeli military response including airstrikes and a ground invasion.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei stated on Sunday that Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon remained “an essential condition for reaching a final and lasting agreement” that could deliver genuine regional security — a condition the Washington deal does not appear to address. Lebanese state media reported a new Israeli strike on the country’s south on Sunday, while the Israeli military confirmed one of its soldiers had been killed in ongoing fighting in southern Lebanon.