Iran Closes Strait of Hormuz Again, Escalating US Tensions and Threatening Global Oil Routes

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that the Strait of Hormuz volition adjacent again, citing US violations of the ceasefire agreement. Strait of Hormuz photograph by MC2 Indra Beaufort Wikimedia Commons Public Domain

Iran said connected Saturday it had erstwhile again closed the Strait of Hormuz, reversing a little reopening and casting caller uncertainty implicit whether vessels tin safely transit the captious planetary lipid route.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) subject bid issued a connection claiming that power of the Strait of Hormuz has present “returned to its erstwhile status” owed to the ongoing US naval blockade of Iranian ports.

🚨 BREAKING
Iran's Central Military HQ:
Iran agreed to let a constricted fig of ships to walk done the Strait of Hormuz according to agreements.#But U.S. did not fulfill their obligations.
🚨 So, the Strait of Hormuz is present #closed again and transition requires IRAN approval.

— IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) (@iribnews_irib) April 18, 2026

In a connection cited by Iran’s authorities broadcaster IRIB, the Revolutionary Guards bid said the US had “continued its acts of piracy nether the guise of the alleged blockade.”

US President Donald Trump has said that the US blockade connected ships sailing to Iranian ports volition stay successful spot until “our negotiations with Iran are 100 percent complete.” A negotiation, which helium said is not definite to pb to an hold of the ceasefire. “I whitethorn not widen (the ceasefire), but the blockade connected Iranian ports volition remain,” Trump told reporters connected committee the statesmanlike plane.

Hours earlier the US president had announced “some beauteous bully news” astir Iran, declining to elaborate. But helium besides said warring mightiness resume without a bid woody by Wednesday, erstwhile a two-week ceasefire expires.

Earlier connected Saturday, a convoy of 8 tankers was transiting ​the Strait of Hormuz successful the archetypal large question of ships since the US-Israeli warfare connected Iran began 7 weeks ago, adjacent arsenic Tehran moved to tighten power of the ‌waterway.

Hormuz Strait reverts to Iranian control

Iran had announced its impermanent reopening of the Strait of Hormuz pursuing a ​separate US-brokered 10-day ceasefire statement connected Thursday betwixt Israel and Lebanon.

However, connected Saturday Iran’s equipped forces bid said transit done the strait had reverted to a authorities ⁠of strict Iranian subject control, citing what it described arsenic repeated US violations and acts of “piracy” nether the guise of a blockade.

The spokesperson said Iran had earlier agreed, “in bully faith,” to the managed transition of a constricted ​number of lipid tankers and commercialized vessels pursuing negotiations, but said continued US actions had forced Tehran to reconstruct tighter controls connected shipping done the strategicwaterway.

It is uncertain whether high-level US-Iran talks volition resume soon, particularly connected the statement implicit Iran’s atomic ambitions. “The main happening is that Iran volition not person a nuclear weapon. ​You cannot fto Iran person a atomic weapon, and that supersedes everything else,” the US president said.

Trump besides said that helium mightiness extremity the ceasefire with Iran unless a semipermanent woody to extremity the warfare was agreed earlier it expires connected Wednesday, adding ‌that a US ⁠blockade of Iranian ports would continue.