Iran closes Strait of Hormuz again amid standoff with United States

Tehran reversed earlier reopening decision after Trump refused to lift US blockade on Iranian ports.

Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, reversing a decision made the previous day to reopen the waterway during a ceasefire period, after US President Donald Trump refused to lift a US blockade of Iranian ports.²⁶⁷

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the strait would remain closed until the United States ended its blockade, describing Washington's actions as "acts of piracy and maritime theft".¹² At least two ships reported being fired upon while attempting to pass through the waterway on Saturday, and shipping data showed no movement through the strait after midnight GMT on Sunday.⁶⁷⁸

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi had announced on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz would be open to commercial vessels for the remainder of a US-brokered 10-day truce between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah.²³ A senior Iranian official said transit would be through designated lanes Iran deemed safe and would exclude naval vessels.³

Trump said on Saturday that the US blockade "will remain in full force" until a deal was reached with Tehran.¹⁰ On Sunday, he accused Iran of a "total violation" of the ceasefire for firing on ships near the strait and threatened to "knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran" if Tehran did not accept his terms.⁵⁶⁷

Trump said his envoys would arrive in Pakistan on Monday evening for renewed talks.⁵⁶ A White House official said the delegation would be headed by Vice President JD Vance and include Trump's envoy Steven Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner.⁹ Iran's official IRNA news agency reported that Iran had rejected the talks, citing "Washington's excessive demands, unrealistic expectations, constant shifts in stance, repeated contradictions, and the ongoing naval blockade".⁹

Iran's chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said the two sides remained "far apart" on nuclear issues and control of the Strait of Hormuz.⁸¹⁴ He called the US naval blockade "a clumsy and ignorant decision".¹⁴

Trump also said on Sunday that US forces had seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship named Touska in the Gulf of Oman after its crew refused orders to stop, with the Navy "blowing a hole in the engine room".¹⁰ Iran condemned the seizure as "armed piracy" and vowed to retaliate.¹¹

The US-Israeli conflict with Iran, which began on 28 February, has killed thousands and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas normally transits.³¹² Oil prices fell 11 percent on Friday following Araqchi's initial announcement of the reopening.³ The current two-week ceasefire is set to expire on Wednesday unless extended.¹³