Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy fired at four ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz without authorization, state media site IRIB reported on Thursday.
The four ships were forced to return after being warned by the Iranian side.
The Persian Gulf Strait Authority, an Iranian authority overseeing shipping control in the Strait of Hormuz, has been added to the Specially Designated Nationals List in a fresh sanction move under the U.S. Economic Fury campaign, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Wednesday.
In a press release posted on its website on Wednesday, the department's Office of Foreign Assets Control said the strait authority sought to impose illegitimate tolls on commercial traffic and force vessels to follow Iranian direction in return for safe passage.
It also warned that anyone cooperating with the authority may also face sanctions.
On May 18, Iran announced it was setting up the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, a new body to manage the Strait of Hormuz. In a statement posted on X on May 20, the authority defined its supervisory jurisdiction over the strait, noting that vessels transiting the area through the Strait of Hormuz are required to coordinate with Iranian authorities and obtain authorization.
Iran forces fire at 4 ships attempting to cross Strait of Hormuz
Japan's ongoing push to revise its pacifist constitution and expand military buildup escalate regional tension, warned Japanese lawyer Kyoko Oe, who urged adherence to pacifism and vigilance against the government's dangerous moves.
Since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office last October, the Japanese government has renewed its push to revise the country's pacifist constitution and accelerated a series of military expansion measures, including increasing defense spending, deploying long-range missiles, and easing restrictions on arms exports.
Speaking on the dangerous policy shifts, Oe criticized the Takaichi administration for bypassing public will.
"We believe that when Japanese citizens are not demanding constitutional reform, pushing it forward through a parliamentary majority clearly violates the principle of popular sovereignty and the obligation to respect the constitution. Moreover, the content of the revision itself is extremely dangerous. [The government] is attempting to change pacifist principles of the Japanese constitution -- the most fundamental part -- and abandon basic concepts, including the renunciation of war and not maintaining military forces," said Oe.
The Japanese government has aggressively accelerated war readiness even under the current constitution, said Oe, adding that amending it will grant the Self-Defense Forces even greater freedom of action at the constitutional level.
"If the constitution is amended, the Self-Defense Forces will gain greater freedom of action at the constitutional level than they have now, and legal interpretations will develop in that direction. Even while the current constitution remains effective, the Japanese government has already forcibly advanced war preparations. For example, manufacturing long-range missiles, which were previously considered unacceptable to possess, and deploying them domestically; conducting joint war games and military exercises with the United States; and massively manufacturing and exporting weapons overseas," said Oe.
The lawyer also criticized Takaichi's provocative remarks on China, saying they have sharply strained bilateral ties and undermined peace and stability in the region.
"We believe that due to Takaichi's remarks made last November, China-Japan relations have become very tense and are deteriorating. Legal experts believe that Takaichi's remarks contain multiple obvious errors. Takaichi should frankly retract the relevant remarks and apologize. Only by building mutual trust with neighboring countries can we maintain our peace, and the peace of East Asia and even the peace of Asia. We believe that what the Takaichi administration is doing runs completely counter to what the Japanese people truly wish to achieve," Oe said.
Japan's constitution revision, military buildup fuel regional tensions: lawyer
