Iran says no guarantee of safe passage if outside Hormuz designated routes

Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority has warned transit outside its own designated routes in the Strait of Hormuz "will not be covered by the guarantee of safe passage."

The warning by the country's new government agency established to control shipping in the strait was issued on X and broadcast on Iranian state television.

It comes after a United Nations agency paused the evacuation of ships through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday after the British military said a vessel was hit by a projectile off the coast of Oman following the passage of several tankers that used a route backed by the UN.

The head of the International Maritime Organization said the plan to move stranded ships out of the Persian Gulf through the strait will be on hold until the agency can confirm safety guarantees for the ships on the evacuation list and in the region.

It was unclear who launched the projectile or the type of vessel that was targeted.

The report of a strike came hours after Iran threatened vessels to stop using the route through the strait without Tehran's permission.

The vessel that was attacked was not part of the evacuation effort, said Arsenio Dominguez, the UN agency's secretary-general.