Iran-approved route dispute leaves container ship aground in Strait of Hormuz

Dubai,UPDATED: Jul 1, 2026 14:44 IST

A foreign container ship ran aground in the Strait of Hormuz after it did not use a route approved by Iran, Iranian state television reported on Wednesday, in an incident that underlined Tehran’s renewed claims of control over the key waterway.

The report came as US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, were in Doha for talks with Qatari mediators, with Iranian negotiators also expected there. The Strait of Hormuz remains a major sticking point in the wider negotiations between Tehran and Washington.

Iran and the United States had agreed under an interim deal to allow ships to pass through the strait without charge for 60 days. But Tehran has said it must control the routes used by vessels and later levy passage fees, challenging decades of practice in the waterway. The US and many Gulf Arab states have said they will not accept those charges. An effort by Oman and a UN agency to open a new route near Oman’s shore triggered attacks across the Middle East over the weekend, highlighting continuing tensions.

Iranian state television said the ship ‘ran aground with its cargo because of shallow waters along the route it had chosen and was unable to continue sailing’. It said shippers must follow instructions issued by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in the strait. The Guard’s navy ‘has repeatedly warned captains, shipowners and officials of shipping companies around the world that any entry or exit through routes other than the Route of Authority in the Persian Gulf could lead to irreparable incidents’, the report said.

The state television report did not mention the two ships Iran attacked in recent days for trying to leave through the strait without Tehran’s permission, including one carrying crude oil from Qatar.

In Qatar, Witkoff and Kushner arrived on Tuesday ahead of talks with Qatari mediators. While Iran said it had no plans for direct meetings with the Americans, its comments left open the possibility of indirect negotiations through Qatari officials, something that has happened several times during talks in the second Trump administration.

Qatar early on Wednesday confirmed a meeting between the Americans and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. A readout from Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said they discussed the interim deal ‘along with the efforts aimed at promoting security and stability in the region through dialogue and diplomacy’. Lebanon was also discussed, another key issue in any final agreement, as Iran has insisted that all fighting between the Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israeli forces must end.

Iran has also called for Israel to give up the land it occupies in southern Lebanon. Israel says it must hold the territory and retain the freedom to strike Hezbollah, which has been carrying out attacks into northern Israel. Iran did not immediately acknowledge any talks on Wednesday. However, Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a key negotiator, told Iranian state television overnight that efforts were continuing to reach a permanent end to the war. ‘We are engaged in dialogue, but if they refuse to implement what has been agreed through dialogue, we are prepared for war,’ Qalibaf said.

Shipping traffic through the strait had fallen after the weekend attacks, but more countries said their vessels were getting through safely. Thailand’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that 10 of 11 Thai-flagged vessels, or ships chartered by Thai operators, had left the Strait of Hormuz safely. South Korean officials said all but two of the country’s 26 stranded vessels had also departed safely.

Elsewhere in the region on Wednesday, Iraqi authorities shot down a small drone over Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, where many embassies and government buildings are located, according to two Iraqi security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. One official said the drone was unarmed and was likely being used for surveillance. No group claimed it. Since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran in late February, Iran-backed Iraqi militias had carried out frequent attacks on US military and diplomatic sites in Iraq. The drone shot down overnight was the first security incident in Baghdad since the US and Iran agreed to a ceasefire.

The day’s developments reflected how the Strait of Hormuz, regional security concerns and indirect diplomacy between the US and Iran remain closely linked, even as some stranded vessels begin moving out of the crucial waterway.

With PTI Inputs

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