US issues maritime warning urging ships to avoid Iranian waters

The Maritime Administration urged US-flagged vessels to stay as far as possible from Iran’s territorial waters.

By World Israel News Staff

The US Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration has warned US-flagged commercial vessels to keep their distance from Iranian territorial waters amid rising tensions in the Persian Gulf region, citing an increased risk of harassment, boarding, and seizure by Iranian forces.

In its guidance, the agency said Iranian forces have long posed a threat to commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman, including attempts to force vessels into Iranian waters.

It advised US-flagged ships to verbally decline boarding requests when safety permits and stressed that vessels should operate in accordance with international law.

The Maritime Administration also recommended that US-flagged commercial vessels “remain as far as possible from Iran’s territorial sea without compromising navigational safety.”

The warning comes amid rising military and political tensions between Washington and Tehran, as the United States reinforces its regional posture.

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has been operating in the Arabian Sea as part of U.S. efforts to deter Iranian aggression and protect freedom of navigation, even as Iranian officials have issued explicit threats against U.S. forces, including warnings that an American carrier could be targeted.

Those threats follow a string of maritime incidents involving Iranian forces.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said last week it seized two vessels near Farsi Island, claiming they were carrying more than one million liters of smuggled fuel, with more than 15 foreign crew members detained.

Days earlier, six Iranian gunboats attempted to stop a US-linked oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, before it accelerated and was escorted to safety by a U.S. warship, according to Reuters.

In a separate incident, an Iranian drone was intercepted after approaching the Abraham Lincoln, which US Central Command said was operating roughly 500 miles from Iran’s coast at the time.

The warning reflects a security environment in which commercial shipping, military deployments, and diplomatic efforts are increasingly colliding, with the risk that tensions at sea could spill over even as talks continue on other fronts.