DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A ship ran aground in the Strait of Hormuz while using a route not approved by Iran, state television in Tehran reported Wednesday. The vessel was identified as a foreign container ship, with no other details.
The report appeared aimed at underlining Tehran’s claims to control the strait, which the world has long considered an international waterway. A fifth of all oil and natural gas passed through it in peacetime.
Iran has used its ability to choke off the waterway as a key source of leverage since the war began Feb. 28, disrupting global markets for energy and other critical goods.
The report came as U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, were in Doha, Qatar, for talks over reaching a permanent end to the Iran war. Iran's top negotiator, Kazem Gharibabadi, traveled to Qatar with a team as well.
Technical talks between diplomats began Wednesday in Qatar, said two regional officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door discussions. Negotiators aim to nail down specifics to pave the way for top leaders to seal an agreement, though differences over the strait and Lebanon loom large.
The Strait of Hormuz is a key sticking point in talks
Iran and the United States agreed as part of an interim deal to allow ships to pass without paying charges for 60 days. But Tehran insisted it must control the routes of the vessels and later charge fees for passage, upending decades of practice in the waterway.
The U.S. and many Gulf Arab states say they won't agree to the charges. An effort by Oman and a U.N. agency to launch a new route near Oman's shore sparked attacks across the Mideast last weekend, highlighting the tensions.
Iranian state TV on Wednesday said the ship “ran aground with its cargo because of shallow waters along the route it had chosen and was unable to continue sailing.” It said shippers needed to follow the instructions of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in the strait.
The Guard’s navy has repeatedly warned that “any entry or exit through routes other than the ‘Route of Authority’ in the Persian Gulf could lead to irreparable incidents.”
The report did not mention the two ships Iran attacked in recent days for daring to head out through the strait without Tehran's permission, including one carrying crude oil from Qatar.
Qatar meets with both sides
Witkoff and Kushner arrived Tuesday in Qatar ahead of talks, with Qatar mediating. While Iran has said it planned no meetings with the Americans, there was the possibility of the nations negotiating indirectly by passing messages through Qatari officials.
Qatar said the Americans met Wednesday with its ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and its foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
Sheikh Mohammed also met with Gharibabadi and other Iranian officials. An Iranian statement said they discussed the interim deal and “the existing challenges and obstacles to its implementation.” Pakistani mediators also were on hand.
Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a key negotiator, told Iranian state television that work continues to try to reach a permanent end to the war.
“We are engaged in dialogue, but if they refuse to implement what has been agreed through dialogue, we are prepared for war,” Qalibaf said.
Lebanon is another key point in a final deal. Iran has insisted that all fighting end between the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah and Israeli military forces there.
Iran also has called for Israel to give up the land it now occupies in southern Lebanon. Israel insists it must hold the territory and have a free hand to attack Hezbollah, which has been launching attacks into northern Israel.
More ships get out of Strait of Hormuz
While ship traffic in the strait dropped after the weekend attacks, more countries say their vessels have gotten out.
The Thai Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that 10 out of 11 Thai-flagged vessels or vessels chartered by Thai operators have departed the strait safely. South Korean officials say all but two of the country’s 26 vessels that were stranded have left safely.
Iraq shoots down drone over Baghdad
Elsewhere, Iraqi authorities on Wednesday shot down a small drone over Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, which includes many embassies and government buildings, two Iraqi security officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.
One of the officials said the drone was unarmed and likely was being used for surveillance. No group immediately claimed the drone as theirs.
After the U.S. and Israel launched their war on Iran in late February, Iranian-backed Iraqi militias launched frequent attacks on U.S. military and diplomatic facilities in Iraq. The drone that was shot down Wednesday was the first security incident in Baghdad since the U.S. and Iran agreed to a ceasefire.
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Associated Press writers Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran; Samy Magdy in Cairo; Najib Jobain in Doha, Qatar; Jintamas Saksornchai in Bangkok; Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad; Tong-hyung Kim in Seoul, South Korea; and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.
