Tehran (TDI): Iran has allowed some Indian vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran’s Ambassador to India, Mohammad Fathali, said on Saturday, marking a rare exception to the blockade that has disrupted global energy supplies.
Fathali did not specify how many ships received safe passage but made the remarks at a conclave organized by India Today in New Delhi.
The blockade followed US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran, which led Tehran to largely halt traffic through the strategically vital strait that carries about 20 percent of the world’s oil and seaborne liquefied natural gas.
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One Indian-flagged tanker, Jag Prakash, transporting gasoline from Oman to Africa, successfully set sail from east of the Strait of Hormuz.
According to India’s Ministry of Shipping, four Indian vessels were stuck in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday; with the Jag Prakash departing, three vessels carrying 76 Indian sailors remain there. Meanwhile, 24 Indian vessels with 677 sailors remained stranded west of the strait in the Arabian Gulf.
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Iran’s new supreme leader recently vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed as leverage against the US and Israel, signaling that disruptions could continue despite this limited exception.
Ship-tracking data shows the Jag Prakash is scheduled to deliver its fuel from Oman’s Sohar Port to Tanzania’s Tanga Port on March 21.
