Iran Flags Mine Risk In Strait of Hormuz, Announces Alternative Transit Routes After Closure Over Israel Strikes

Iran has issued alternative navigation routes for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, warning of the risk of sea mines in parts of the strategically key shipping route, according to AFP.

The announcement comes after Iran once again effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz in response to Israeli strikes on Lebanon, Iranian state media reported, as cited by AP. On the other side, Israel has maintained that its operations against Hezbollah fall outside the scope of the US-Iran ceasefire agreement.

US Vice President JD Vance echoed this position, stating that Washington had never said Lebanon was part of the truce deal.

“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart, over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them, and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice," Vance said, as quoted by AFP.

In a statement carried by local media and reported by news agency AFP, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said ships must follow revised traffic patterns to ensure maritime safety and avoid possible contact with sea mines. The advisory laid out specific entry and exit corridors aimed at reducing risks for commercial vessels.

“All ships intending to transit the Strait of Hormuz are hereby notified that in order to comply with the principles of maritime safety and to be protected from possible collisions with sea mines, they should take alternative routes for traffic in the Strait of Hormuz," Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement quoted by local media, AFP reported.

Iranian state media, cited by Al Jazeera, reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy has also asked ships to coordinate closely with its forces while transiting through the strait.