US forces redirect 109 commercial vessels in Strait of Hormuz

US forces have redirected 109 commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz as Washington enforces a naval blockade on Iran, according to US Central Command (CENTCOM).

CENTCOM said on September 20 that the vessels had been redirected to ensure compliance with the US maritime blockade, which applies to ships travelling to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas.

The US military resumed enforcement of the blockade on July 14, as tensions between Washington and Tehran continued to escalate.

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global energy supplies, has fallen sharply amid the confrontation. Reuters reported that only four commodity vessels passed through the waterway on 17 September, compared with a 10-day average of 16.

US President Donald Trump warned on September 20 that Washington could take “significant action” if Iran did not change its approach to the conflict. He also indicated that he could be open to talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during the UN General Assembly in New York.

Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei said Tehran had conveyed conditions for ending the conflict through Qatar. He said Iran was seeking an end to hostilities on all fronts, the release of frozen Iranian funds and an end to the naval blockade.

The regional tensions have also coincided with renewed attacks by Yemen’s Houthi movement. Houthi forces launched missile and drone attacks towards Saudi Arabia, including an attack targeting Riyadh that Saudi forces said had been intercepted.

By Aghakazim Guliyev