Gulf States Tell Ships Not to Use Iran’s Strait of Hormuz Route

Five Middle Eastern countries have formally rejected Iran’s establishment of the Persian Gulf Strait Authority to control transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

In a letter to a global shipping watchdog, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates said commercial and merchant vessels shouldn’t engage with the PGSA or cross the waterway using a route designated by Iran. The letter was issued earlier this week and distributed by the International Maritime Organization.

Earlier in May, Iran laid out an updated process for transiting the strait in which vessel owners needed to email the PGSA. The waterway has ...