Ships anchor in the Strait of Hormuz as an Iranian flag flutters in the wind. [Getty Images]
Ships anchor in the Strait of Hormuz as an Iranian flag flutters in the wind. [Getty Images]

By Park Hye-won, The Herald Business

The United States and Iran have reached a tentative agreement on an end-of-war memorandum of understanding, yet the two countries continue to clash in the Strait of Hormuz.

The US military shot down multiple Iranian one-way attack drones flying toward the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, according to Reuters. The military said the drones had been attempting to strike commercial vessels transiting the strait.

Iran's semi-official Mehr News Agency also reported that explosions were heard in waters near the port of Sirik and Qeshm Island off Iran's southern coast.

The Strait of Hormuz is expected to remain a flashpoint over control even after the two countries sign an end-of-war MOU. Iran has been asserting control over the waterway by launching drone strikes against merchant ships that attempt to pass without approval from its military, while US forces have continued to respond with force by shooting down Iranian drones that threaten commercial vessels.

Iran has officially stated its intention to maintain control over the Strait of Hormuz even after signing an MOU with the United States — and ultimately to collect "fees" from passing ships. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Iranian state television Friday that "the management of the Strait of Hormuz will not return to what it was before the war," reaffirming his government's plan to impose "service fees" on vessels transiting the strait.

The United States, by contrast, has maintained that the Strait of Hormuz must be restored to an international waterway with freedom of navigation guaranteed, as it was before the war.


klee@heraldcorp.com