"Non-hostile" ships may be allowed to sail through the Strait of Hormuz after "coordination with Iranian authorities". This is according to a letter that Iran has circulated to members of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The Financial Times, which has seen the letter, writes on Tuesday.
The letter has been shared while shipping through the narrow and strategically important strait is largely closed. The situation has led to unrest in international markets and rising oil prices.
The Iranian government writes in the letter that ships with connections to the United States or Israel are not allowed to sail through the strait. The same applies to "other participants" in aggressive actions against Iran.
Before the war, which began with extensive Israeli and American air strikes on February 28, around 138 ships sailed through the strait daily, the BBC has previously described. The ships were carrying about a fifth of the global oil supply.
But the threat of attack from Iran has caused the vast majority of ships to refrain from sailing through the Strait of Hormuz, which lies between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
According to the Financial Times, around 3,200 ships are stuck in the Persian Gulf. They do not want to take the risk of sailing through the Strait of Hormuz. At least 22 ships have been hit by Iran since the conflict broke out.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is part of the UN and has 176 member states, including Denmark.
Last week, the organization called an emergency meeting to address the crisis. The IMO is in talks to establish a humanitarian corridor that will allow ships running out of supplies to leave the Gulf, the Financial Times reports.
There is no sign that Iran intends to loosen its grip on the strait, the newspaper reports. US President Donald Trump has otherwise threatened the country with consequences if it does not reopen the route.
/ritzau/
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