Iran fires on shipping

IRAN yesterday doubled down on its pledge to restrict ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz as long as the United States blockade of Iranian ports remains in place, as mediators scrambled to secure further talks before the ceasefire in the Middle East war expires this week.

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Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf said in a televised interview that Iran would continue to threaten commercial vessels transiting the critical waterway, after it fired on ships attempting to pass on Saturday.

“It is impossible for others to pass through the Strait of Hormuz while we cannot,” Mr Qalibaf, who is Iran’s chief negotiator in talks with the US, said yesterday.

Iran’s navy has warned ships against transiting the strait, a chokepoint through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil normally passes.