Two Chinese-linked ships were forced to turn back after trying to exit the Hormuz Strait on Friday, amid Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) declaring on the same day that the waterway was closed to ships linked to US and allied nations.
Owned by Chinese firm COSCO, the two vessels—CSCL Indian Ocean and the CSCL Arctic Ocean—have been stuck in the Persian Gulf since the beginning of the war, which turned four weeks old.
Despite carrying Chinese flags, the two vessels were forced to turn back after attempting to pass through the strait at 3:50 AM GMT (9:20 AM IST) on Friday, as per data from the maritime tracker Kpler, which noted that “safe passage could not be guaranteed”.
The IRGC's new move to 'close' the Hormuz Strait marks a major shift in rhetoric from the "special conditions" it had earlier placed on the waterway.
"This morning, following the false statements of the corrupt US president claiming that the Strait of Hormuz is open, three container ships of different nationalities moved toward the designated corridor for authorised vessel traffic, but were turned back after warnings from the IRGC Navy," the Iranian military said in a statement, as per a CBS News report.
It has also warned of a "severe response" against vessels (linked to the US and its allies) from trying to cross the strait despite the closure.
The identity of the third Chinese-linked container ship is not yet known. However, the third that was "turned back" could also be the Pakistan-bound Selen carrying the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis, which was intercepted and stopped from exiting the Hormuz Strait on Thursday.
According to former Iranian Navy chief Alireza Tangsiri, who was killed in airstrikes on Thursday, the Selen had been turned back due to "failure to comply with legal protocols and lack of permission" to cross the embattled strait.
This comes despite Iran granting safe passage to vessels linked to a set of friendly countries, such as China, Pakistan, India, and Russia, among others.
“We permitted passage through the Strait of Hormuz for friendly nations including China, Russia, India, Iraq, and Pakistan,” Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said in an interview with the Iran News Network on Wednesday.