Iran closes Strait of Hormuz again after brief reopening, citing US blockade

Tehran reversed decision to allow commercial transit after Washington maintained naval blockade of Iranian ports during ceasefire.

Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, less than 24 hours after reopening the waterway, and warned that vessels attempting passage would be targeted²⁵⁷. The closure followed reports that Iranian gunboats fired on at least two merchant ships trying to transit the strait³⁴⁵.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi announced on Friday that the strait would be open to commercial vessels during a US-brokered 10-day truce between Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon¹². Oil prices fell 11 percent following the announcement¹. However, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reversed the decision within a day, stating that control of the waterway had "returned to its previous state"⁵⁷.

The IRGC said the closure would remain in effect until the United States lifted its blockade of Iranian ports, calling the US actions "piracy and maritime theft"⁵. The Guard warned that any vessel approaching the strait "will be considered cooperation with the enemy, and the offending vessel will be targeted"⁶⁷.

US President Donald Trump accused Iran on Sunday of "a total violation" of the ceasefire agreement³. Trump renewed threats to destroy Iranian infrastructure, writing on social media that the US would "knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran" unless Tehran accepted his terms³. He also said US envoys would arrive in Pakistan on Monday evening for renewed talks³.

Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Iran's parliament speaker and chief negotiator, said in a television interview that the sides remained "far apart" on nuclear issues and the Strait of Hormuz⁴⁷. Shipping data showed no movement through the waterway after midnight GMT on Sunday⁴.

The strait normally carries about one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas¹². The conflict, which began on 28 February with US and Israeli air strikes against Iran, has created what one source described as "the most severe shock to global energy supplies in history"⁴. The ceasefire is scheduled to expire on 22 April²⁶.