Ship Runs Aground in Strait of Hormuz: Iran

A ship ran aground in the Strait of Hormuz after not taking Iran's approved route through the waters, Iranian state television reported Wednesday. The report identified the affected vessel as a foreign container ship, reports the AP, but offered no other immediate details. Iranian state TV 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 needed to follow the instructions of 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," it said.

The Iranian state TV report did not mention the two ships Iran attacked in recent days for daring to head out through the strait without Tehran's permission, including one that was carrying crude oil from Qatar. The report appeared aimed at underlining the claims Tehran has made since the US-Iran war to control the strait. It also came as US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law, were in Doha, Qatar, for talks over reaching a permanent end to the Iran war. Technical talks between diplomats began Wednesday in Qatar, said two regional officials.

Those discussions see negotiators aiming to nail down specifics to pave the way for top leaders to seal an agreement, though differences over the strait and Lebanon still loom large. Iran and the United States agreed as part of an interim deal to allow ships to pass uncharged for 60 days, but Tehran insisted it must control the routes of the vessels and later charge fees for passage, upending decades of practice in the waterway. The US and many Gulf Arab states say they won't agree to the charges.

Witkoff and Kushner arrived in Qatar on Tuesday ahead of talks with Qatar mediating. While Iran has insisted it planned no meetings with the Americans, their comments left open the possibility of so-called "indirect negotiations," in which the two nations pass messages through Qatari officials.