Iran recloses Strait of Hormuz, citing US port blockade

Tehran halted shipping through the strategic waterway less than 24 hours after reopening it, as ceasefire talks stall.

Iran announced on Saturday it had closed the Strait of Hormuz for a second time, reversing a brief reopening and halting traffic through a waterway that carries roughly 20 percent of global oil trade¹³⁵. The closure came less than a day after more than a dozen commercial vessels passed through the strait following a US-mediated 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon¹.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement that the strait would remain closed until the United States lifts its blockade of Iranian ports, which Tehran described as "acts of piracy and maritime theft"¹³. The IRGC warned that any vessel attempting to pass through the waterway without permission "will be considered cooperation with the enemy, and the offending vessel will be targeted"²³.

Reports indicated Iranian gunboats fired at a merchant vessel as it attempted to cross the strait¹. Video footage showed Iranian military personnel ordering an Indian ship to abort its passage⁷. The IRGC said the strait was "under the strict management and control of the armed forces"¹³.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's parliamentary speaker and a senior negotiator in ongoing talks with Washington, told state television that the US naval blockade was "a clumsy and ignorant decision"³. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said no date had been set for a new round of face-to-face talks with the US, criticising Washington's "maximalist" demands⁶.

Ghalibaf indicated that a conclusive peace agreement remained "far" away despite some progress in negotiations². The current two-week ceasefire is set to expire on Wednesday unless extended².

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday that US President Donald Trump had no justification to deprive Iran of its nuclear rights, as the two countries continued to face disagreements over nuclear issues². Trump warned against what he termed Iranian "blackmail"³.