Iran announced on Saturday that it had reimposed the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, less than a day after it reopened to shipping, but President Donald Trump warned that Iran could not threaten the United States by closing the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy announced that the strait would be closed until the US blockade is lifted, warning that “no vessel should make any movement from its anchorages in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman; any approach to the Strait of Hormuz will be considered cooperation with the enemy and will be targeted.”
Two Revolutionary Guards gunboats opened fire on the tanker as it passed through the Channel, the British military’s Royal Maritime Trade Operations Center said. It reported that the tanker and crew were safe, but did not identify the vessel or its destination. Shipping sources told Reuters that at least two other ships reported being hit by shelling as they tried to pass through the waterway.
India has summoned Iran’s ambassador after an Indian-flagged vessel carrying crude oil was attacked in Mumbai as it crossed the strait, Reuters reported.
The closure of the waterway came after Iran declared on Friday that it was opening the strait to commercial shipping during a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, but confusion quickly arose over whether the sea lanes would indeed be open unconditionally.
Iranian state media reported on Saturday that the strait had been closed because the United States had not honored its end of the deal. Iran accused the US of continuing to blockade Iranian ports.
“Under the agreement, Iran has agreed to allow a limited number of ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz,” Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) said in a post on X.
“However, the US did not fulfill its obligations. As a result, the Strait of Hormuz is closed again and Iranian approval is required for passage,” IRIB news agency said.
Iranian state media also aired a statement from Revolutionary Guards spokesman Lt. Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari detailing the reimposition of restrictions on ships in the strait, MS Now reported.
“Control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state under strict military control and control,” Zolfagali said. He warned that as long as the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports remains in place, Iran will continue to block passage through the strait.
President Trump says Iran is ‘getting a little cute’
Trump said in Washington that talks with Iran are progressing well and he expects to have more information “by the end of today.”
President Trump made the comments during a White House event where he signed an executive order directing the Food and Drug Administration to expedite its review of certain psychedelic drugs designed as breakthrough treatments for mental illness.
President Trump did not respond to reporters’ questions about Iran, but said, “We’re having very good conversations.”
“I felt a little sorry for Iran,” he said, then added, referring to the Strait of Hormuz: “They wanted to close the strait again.”
“They can’t intimidate us,” Trump said.
President Trump said Friday that he likely would not extend the two-week ceasefire, which is scheduled to end Wednesday. The US and Israeli military began airstrikes against Iranian targets on February 28th. President Trump agreed to a ceasefire on April 7 in exchange for Iran to fully open the Strait.
President Trump said, “I may not extend it, but the lockdown will continue. But I probably won’t extend it, so the lockdown will be in place and unfortunately we’ll have to start dropping bombs again.”
Peace talks held in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad over the weekend between a US delegation led by Vice President J.D. Vance and an Iranian negotiator led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf failed to reach an agreement.
Iran is considering a new proposal proposed by the US
Iran’s Supreme Council for National Security said in a statement that Pakistan’s military commander had presented the proposal to Iran as an intermediary during a recent visit to Tehran, and it was still under consideration.
The details of the proposal have not been disclosed.
The council said Iran had not yet responded, but further talks would require the US to “abandon its excessive demands and adjust its demands to the realities on the ground.”
It added that Iran will maintain full control over traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, collect detailed information on ships passing through it, issue transit certificates and impose fees until “the war is completely ended and lasting peace is achieved in the region.”
The council deemed the U.S. naval blockade a violation of the ceasefire, adding that the Strait of Hormuz would not reopen until it was lifted.
Confusion over Hormuz
“Following the ceasefire in Lebanon, all commercial shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz are declared fully open for the remainder of the ceasefire period,” Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi said on social media on Friday.
However, ships will have to follow a “coordinated route” announced by Iran’s maritime authorities, Araghchi said. It is unclear whether the Iranian government will force ships to pay tolls to transit the strait.
Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10-day ceasefire on Thursday, starting at 5pm ET that evening. Israel’s military operation in Lebanon against the militant group Hezbollah, which is closely allied with Iran, is another hurdle in U.S. negotiations with Iran.
However, confusion over the situation in the strait has left ship operators at a loss.
Video footage from ship tracking company Kpler showed several tankers and cargo ships attempting to leave the waterway on Friday but being turned back.
“It’s clearly not cleared for transit,” Matt Smith, Kpler’s director of commodity research, told CNBC.
Oil prices fell more than 10% on Friday, below $90 a barrel. Before the war, about one-fifth of the world’s crude oil supply passed through this strait. The closure of the sea lanes linking the Persian Gulf to global energy markets caused the largest oil supply disruption in history.
Another major sticking point in the negotiations is the issue of recovering material from Iran’s nuclear program. President Trump told reporters on Air Force One that the United States would “work with Iran, and we will work together to bring Iran in and bring all of that back to the United States.”
“We will accept it after the agreement is signed,” he said.
Iran says it will not hand over enriched uranium to the US
President Trump said on Friday that Iran had agreed to hand over its enriched uranium stockpile, but Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh denied the US president’s claims and expressed caution about future talks between the two countries.
Speaking to The Associated Press in Antalya, Turkey, Khatibzadeh said the Iranian side was not ready for new face-to-face talks with the United States because the United States “has not abandoned its extremist position.”
On Friday, President Trump said the United States intends to invade Iran and “pick up all the nuclear dust,” noting that 970 pounds (440 kilograms) of enriched uranium is believed to be buried beneath a nuclear facility that was severely damaged in a U.S. attack last year.
French peacekeeper killed in Lebanon
French President Emmanuel Macron announced Saturday that one French soldier was killed and three others injured in an attack on United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon. “Everything points to Hezbollah being responsible for this attack,” President Macron wrote on social media. UNIFIL peacekeepers also condemned Hezbollah.
Hezbollah denied involvement.
Pakistan’s foreign minister said fighting between Israel and Hezbollah had become a major sticking point in negotiations between the United States and Iran, and a ceasefire declaration in Lebanon was seen as a boost to efforts toward an Iran deal.
It was unclear to what extent Hezbollah would abide by the cease-fire agreement, which it had no role in negotiating, especially since Israeli forces still occupy much of southern Lebanon.
In Beirut, displaced families began moving towards southern Lebanon and the capital’s southern suburbs, despite warnings from authorities not to return until it was clear whether the ceasefire would last.
The Iran war has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,290 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen US military personnel were killed.
Pope Leo says he has no interest in discussing Trump
Pope Leo
Leo spoke to reporters on the papal plane flying from Cameroon to Angola.
He mentioned the repeated criticisms of President Trump’s message of peace that dominated the headlines this week. But the American pope also sought to set the record straight, insisting that his sermon was not directed at Trump, but instead reflected the broader message of the gospel of peace.
“There were certain stories that were not accurate on all sides, but that was because of the political situation that arose when the President of the United States made some comments about me on the first day of the visit,” he said.
—The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
