Iran closes Hormuz Strait again over US blockade with ships mid-transit

The toing and froing over the strait cast doubt on US President Donald Trump’s optimism the day before, that a peace deal to end the US-Israeli war with Iran was “very close”.

Tehran had on Friday declared the strait, which usually carries a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas, open after a ceasefire was agreed in Lebanon to halt Israel’s war with Hezbollah.

This prompted elation in global markets and sent oil prices plunging, but with Trump insisting that a US naval blockade of Iranian ports would continue until a deal was concluded, Tehran threatened to shut the strait once more.

“With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open,” parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X, adding that passage through the waterway would require authorisation from Iran.

“What they call a naval blockade will definitely be met with an appropriate response from Iran,” said Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, calling the naval blockade “a violation of the ceasefire” it struck with Washington for a fortnight to enable talks.

Then, late on Saturday morning, citing a statement from military central command, Iranian state TV reported that “control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous status” and “is under strict management and control of the armed forces”, calling the decision a response to a continued US blockade.

The announcement came as maritime tracking sites showed several ships making a dash through the narrow waterway, hugging close to Iranian territorial waters as instructed by Tehran and, for some, broadcasting their identity as Indian or Chinese in an apparent attempt to show their neutrality.

By 1030GMT on Saturday, no fewer than eight oil and gas tankers had crossed the strait, but at least as many ships appeared to have turned back having begun to exit the Gulf.

There are just four days remaining before the end of the two-week ceasefire in the US-Israeli war on Iran, launched by Washington and its ally on February 28.

Nevertheless, Trump appeared convinced that a deal could be finished shortly. He declared Friday “GREAT AND BRILLIANT,” and made a series of social media posts praising talks mediator Pakistan.

On Saturday, he said that he may end the ceasefire with Iran unless a long-term deal to end the war is agreed by Wednesday.

“Maybe I won’t extend it, but the blockade (on Iranian ports) is going to remain,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on his way back to Washington from Phoenix, Arizona.

“So you have a blockade, and unfortunately, we have to start dropping bombs again.”

Asked about a potential deal, Trump said, “I think it’s going to happen.”

Key differences remain between the demands from the United States and Iran, which earlier failed to reach agreement in talks in Pakistan.

Trump told reporters there were “not going to be tolls” imposed by Iran on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz – something that the Islamic republic put forward during previous peace deal plans.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said China’s President Xi Jinping was “very happy” about the global oil chokepoint reopening.

“Our meeting in China will be a special one and, potentially, Historic,” Trump added, referring to a summit planned in Beijing in May.

Trump also insisted that Washington and Tehran would jointly transfer enriched uranium stored in Iran to the United States under the touted plan to end the war, which began on February 28.

Iran’s foreign ministry earlier said its stockpile of uranium would not be transferred “anywhere”.

He also told reporters, obliquely, that he would be holding “a form of a news conference” at around 9am on Saturday morning (6pm PKT) with a mysterious visitor to the White House.

He refused to share the identity of the person arriving, but said that they were “very good, very smart, very caring — a person that cares a lot about the country, and beyond”.

Trump also hedged when asked if the visit was Iran-related, saying: “No. Well, it will be — ultimately everything is about Iran, I guess, it all morphs into Iran.”

He added that “the Iran thing is going well — tomorrow is unrelated,” and that he thought it would be “something very good for our country”.