Iran closes Hormuz Strait after Trump threatens renewed strikes

Tehran reverses reopening decision amid dispute over US port blockade as ceasefire talks falter.

Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, reversing a decision made one day earlier to reopen the strategic waterway, after US President Donald Trump refused to lift a naval blockade of Iranian ports²⁶¹⁰. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the strait would remain closed until the US restores freedom of navigation for Iranian vessels, calling the blockade "acts of piracy and maritime theft"¹⁰¹².

At least two ships reported being fired upon while attempting to pass through the strait on Saturday, and shipping data showed no movement through the waterway after midnight GMT on Sunday⁶⁸. The strait, which carries about one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas, had been briefly reopened on Friday following a US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon²³.

Trump accused Iran on Sunday of a "total violation" of the ceasefire for firing on ships near the strait⁵⁶⁷. He renewed threats to destroy Iran's power plants and bridges unless Tehran accepted his terms, writing on social media: "NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!"⁵⁶⁷

The president said US envoys would arrive in Pakistan on Monday evening for a second round of talks, led by Vice President JD Vance⁵⁹. However, Iran's state news agency IRNA reported that Tehran 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 Baqer Qalibaf said the two sides remained "far apart" on nuclear issues and control of the Strait of Hormuz⁸¹¹. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said no date had been set for new face-to-face talks¹⁵.

The conflict, which began on 28 February with US and Israeli air strikes against Iran, has killed thousands and created what sources described as the most severe shock to global energy supplies in history¹³⁸. Oil prices fell 11 percent following the initial reopening announcement on Friday, but shipping companies signalled caution about resuming normal transit levels³. The current two-week ceasefire is set to expire on 22 April⁴¹¹.