A plan to divert shipping through an alternative corridor off the Omani coast to avoid the threat of mines in the Strait of Hormuz has come under scrutiny after two attacks on ships in recent days. Though Iran and Oman agreed to engage in talks on Monday on the strait's management, the incidents illustrate the complexity of maintaining navigation through the crucial waterway, which remains at the forefront of the standoff between Tehran and Washington.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the ideological armed wing of the Islamic Republic of Iran, issued a stern warning last week that only certain maritime routes would be authorised for navigation. It added that any ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz outside of the framework defined by Iran “will not be guaranteed safe passage”.
