Iran opens Hormuz to all but US
Iran announced it will open the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping but explicitly exclude U.S.-flagged vessels—an unprecedented selective blockade that raises the stakes for NATO and global energy flows. European allies are reportedly split over how to respond, leaving NATO credibility and coalition cohesion in question. (youtube.com)
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said in interviews on March 15 that Tehran would allow transit through the Strait of Hormuz for ships not linked to “our enemies,” explicitly excluding vessels associated with the United States and Israel. (cbsnews.com) Roughly 20% of global seaborne oil and LNG normally flows via the Strait of Hormuz, making even selective restrictions material for world energy supply. (aljazeera.com) Maritime traffic has collapsed from about 100–135 daily crossings pre-crisis to a trickle, with Lloyd’s List and ship-tracking firms recording as few as 11 China-linked transits from March 1–15 and dozens of vessels anchored outside the choke point. (lloydslist.com) European capitals have repeatedly declined U.S. requests to send NATO warships to reopen the waterway, with Germany’s government calling the conflict “not NATO’s war” and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas saying no one is willing to put people at risk in the strait. (politico.eu) President Donald Trump publicly urged allies to help secure Hormuz and warned that a negative response would be “very bad for the future of NATO,” while U.S. officials privately describe reopening the strait as a complex problem without a clear military solution. (defensenews.com) Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has offered conditional “safe passage” to some Arab and European states on the demand that they expel U.S. and Israeli ambassadors, a stipulation carried on Iranian state media and picked up in international reporting. (marinelink.com) Countries and companies are negotiating bilateral transits: Reuters reports India pressed Tehran for safe passage for dozens of stranded vessels while Iran asked New Delhi to return three tankers it seized, and Bloomberg/Lloyd’s List data show selective, negotiated transits—mostly non-crude cargoes—continuing under Iran’s approval. (msn.com)
