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Article 5 and Hormuz
Iran and the United States traded fresh attacks around the Strait of Hormuz after the first exchanges since the MoU was signed on June 17, with both sides accusing the other of violating the terms, including Article 5.
“Iran will make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge for 60 days only from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa”
Article 5 calls for safe passage for commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, and Al Jazeera quotes: "Iran will make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge for 60 days only from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa."
Al Jazeera also reports that the interim agreement calls for the opening of the strait and the immediate recommencement of commercial traffic, while Iran pushes back against Washington’s attempt to create alternative routes closer to the Omani side of the waterway.
Iran’s de facto blockade of the strait is described by Al Jazeera as having triggered a global energy crisis, and the fighting is framed as a dispute over control of the narrow waterway used as geostrategic leverage at the negotiating table.
In Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, "This responsibility rests on the Islamic Republic of Iran," adding that any intervention or unilateral action would delay reopening the strait.
Baghdad warning and Trump
Abbas Araghchi warned on Sunday that any attempt to block Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz would "increase tensions" in the Middle East, speaking at a press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein in Baghdad.
Araghchi urged all parties to "adhere to the memorandum of understanding and not let it drift off course," while Fuad Hussein said it is important to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and lift the American maritime siege imposed on Iran.
The BBC also reports that U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Saturday that Iran "will disappear" if the United States finds itself "forced" to resume the war, accusing Tehran of violating the ceasefire.
The BBC ties the renewed pressure to U.S. airstrikes, noting that the U.S. military carried out "additional strikes targeting multiple sites in Iran on June 27" and that the strikes hit "Iran's military surveillance infrastructure and communications systems, air-defense sites, drone storage facilities, and capabilities to lay mines at sea."
The BBC adds that CENTCOM confirmed "the movement of merchant ships continues through the Strait of Hormuz" while American forces remain on high alert and fully prepared for combat.
Routes, control, and risk
CNN Arabic describes how Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned that if any ship attempts to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without permission or off the designated course, it will be responsible for any consequences, and it says the warning is now testing the agreement reached between Iran and the United States.
“If any ship attempts to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without our permission... or off the designated course, it will be responsible for any consequences.”
CNN Arabic reports that the container ship Ever Lovely, flying the Singapore flag, was struck by an Iranian drone, and it quotes Trump calling the attack "foolish violation of the cease-fire."
CNN Arabic says the cease-fire states that Iran "shall take arrangements to the best of its ability" to ensure the safe passage of commercial ships, while also describing a clause that says Iran and Oman will work together "to determine the future management" of the waterway.
The same CNN Arabic report says three distinct routes have emerged in the 21-mile-wide channel, including a southern route opposite Oman, a second route used before the war through the center of the strait, and a northern route under Iran’s control.
CNN Arabic adds that Dimitris Maniatis, CEO of Marisks, told CNN that "All of this is causing a great deal of confusion regarding safe navigation in those waters," and it says shipping companies fear U.S. sanctions if they comply with the Revolutionary Guard’s demands and use the Iranian route.