Iran maritime authority warns ships outside Gulf routes risk losing protection

Hardline Iranian lawmaker Mahmoud Nabavian on Thursday questioned why government officials scheduled another round of negotiations with the United States, adding that several conditions Tehran had previously set for continuing the talks not yet been fulfilled.

"To the officials leading the negotiations: Didn't you say that implementing provisions 1, 4, 5, 10, and 11 of the agreement was a precondition for continuing negotiations, and that talks would be suspended until those provisions were carried out? Those provisions have still not been fully implemented. So why have you scheduled another round of negotiations for next week?" he posted on X.

Speaking to reporters in Ottawa after deadly earthquakes in Venezuela, Carney said diplomatic presence does not amount to political approval.

“Engagement is not endorsement,” he said, adding that embassies and consular services help governments respond faster in emergencies.

Carney said Canada had faced similar challenges during the war in Iran. “We’ve had to rely on allies and countries that also aren’t our natural allies to help us, particularly in Iran, to help get Canadians out."

“In my opinion, we must change the way we’re doing things,” Carney added, while cautioning that he was making a general point and that no decision had been made on restoring ties.

His remarks come despite earlier comments by Canada’s Foreign Ministry to Iran International that Ottawa’s policy toward Tehran had not changed.

The ministry said Canada maintains a Controlled Engagement Policy with Iran, limiting bilateral contacts to consular affairs, including issues related to the downing of Flight PS752, as well as human rights and nuclear non-proliferation.

“While we continually monitor opportunities in which diplomatic representation may be in the interests of Canadians, and noting that engagement is not endorsement, we are not currently considering re-opening an embassy in Iran,” the ministry told Iran International.

Canada closed its embassy in Tehran in 2012 and expelled Iranian diplomats from Ottawa after designating the Islamic Republic a state sponsor of terrorism. The absence of diplomatic ties has complicated consular support for Canadians in Iran, including members of Canada’s large Iranian diaspora.

Ottawa has since maintained what it calls a Controlled Engagement Policy with Tehran, limiting bilateral contacts to consular issues, the 2020 downing of Flight PS752, human rights and nuclear non-proliferation.

The absence of Iranian diplomatic representation in Canada has in turn forced more than 280,000 members of the country’s Iranian diaspora to handle consular affairs through the Islamic Republic’s Interests Section in Washington, DC.

Aday after Canada’s Foreign Ministry told Iran International it was not considering reopening its embassy in Tehran, Prime Minister Mark Carney called for broader diplomatic engagement with Iran, saying embassies do not amount to endorsement.

Speaking to reporters in Ottawa after deadly earthquakes in Venezuela, Carney said diplomatic presence does not amount to political approval.

“Engagement is not endorsement,” he said, adding that embassies and consular services help governments respond faster in emergencies.

Carney said Canada had faced similar challenges during the war in Iran. “We’ve had to rely on allies and countries that also aren’t our natural allies to help us, particularly in Iran, to help get Canadians out."

His remarks come despite earlier comments by Canada’s Foreign Ministry to Iran International that Ottawa’s policy toward Tehran had not changed.

Continue reading

Iranian state media on Thursday released a photo that purportedly shows IRGC Quds Force commander Esmail Ghaani and Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Mohammad-Bagher Zolghadr attending a Muharram mourning ceremony near the ruins of the supreme leader's office in Tehran.

100%

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also attended a mourning ceremony in Jamaran Grand Mosque in northern Tehran on Thursday night,

100%

The Persian Gulf Strait Authority, an Iranian government agency mandated to authorize and regulate maritime transit through the strait of Hormuz, said vessels using routes outside its designated framework will not be covered by safe-passage guarantees, insurance protections or related liability arrangements.

Responding to what it called repeated inquiries, the PGSA said any transit outside its approved routes would be considered unauthorized and would fall outside the authority’s safety assurances.

It added that the consequences of using unauthorized routes would rest with the vessel’s owner, operator and captain.

The statement came after a new ship attack near Hormuz, which US officials told the Wall Street Journal was launched by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and targeted a Singapore-flagged cargo ship.