On May 13 (US time), the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that the US military had allowed 15 ships to pass through for humanitarian purposes in the first month of naval blockade against Iran.
In a statement on social network X, CENTCOM said that US forces began deploying blockades on ships entering and leaving Iranian ports about 4 weeks ago.
“4 weeks ago, CENTCOM began to blockade ships entering and leaving Iranian ports. As of today, US forces have diverted 67 merchant ships, allowing 15 humanitarian aid ships to pass through and neutralizing 4 ships to ensure compliance,” CENTCOM stated.
However, the US military did not specifically explain what types of goods ships are allowed to pass through. CENTCOM also did not provide further details about the ships being neutralized, including nationality, ship type or specific reasons why these ships were blocked.
According to TASS, the US imposed naval blockade on Iran from April 13. At that time, CENTCOM declared its goal to block the movement of all ships to and from Iranian ports.
Naval blockade is one of Washington's strong pressure measures on Tehran, amid tensions between the two countries continuing to revolve around maritime issues, sanctions and negotiation conditions.
The US allowing some humanitarian ships to pass shows that Washington still maintains some exceptions in the process of implementing the blockade. However, the redirection of 67 commercial ships within a month also shows that maritime activities related to Iran are being significantly tightened.
The blockade measures may directly affect Iran's import and export activities, especially in the context that many seaports play an important role in the country's trade and goods supply. The situation in the Gulf region is also being closely monitored because this area is related to many sea transport and strategic energy routes.
Currently, Iran has not given an immediate response to the new data released by CENTCOM. It is unclear whether Washington will continue to open more humanitarian exceptions in the near future.
