Iran has closed and restricted the Strait of Hormuz again, swiftly reversing course on reopening the vital waterway.
Tehran said it had reimposed restrictions after the US said the reopening would not end its blockade of Iran-linked shipping with reports claiming that Iranian gunboats fired at a merchant vessel as it attempted to cross..
Tehran’s joint military command said on Saturday that its “control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state… under strict management and control of the armed forces”.
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It said that it would continue to block transit through the strait as long as the US blockade of its ports continued.
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MSN reports: The announcement came the morning after President Donald Trump said the American blockade “will remain in full force” until Tehran reaches a deal with the US, including on its nuclear programme.
The conflict over the chokepoint threatened to deepen the energy crisis damaging the global economy after oil prices began to fall again on Friday on hopes the US and Iran were drawing closer to an agreement.
About a fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strait and further limits would squeeze already constrained supply, driving prices higher again.
Control over the strait has proven to be one Iran’s main points of leverage and prompted the US to deploy forces and initiate a blockade on Iranian ports as part of an effort to force Tehran to accept a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire to end almost seven weeks of war between Israel, the US and Iran.
Iran said it fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial vessels after a 10-day truce was announced between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, but after Mr Trump announced the blockade would continue, senior Iranian officials said his announcement violated last week’s ceasefire agreement between Iran and the US and warned the strait would not stay open if the US blockade remained.
Data firm Kpler said movement through the strait remained confined to corridors requiring Iran’s approval.
US forces have sent 21 ships back to Iran since the blockade began on Monday, US Central Command said.
Despite the escalation in the Strait of Hormuz, Pakistani officials say the US and Iran are still moving closer to a deal ahead of the April 22 ceasefire deadline.
Just after Iran closed and restricted the waterway, a maritime agency has claimed that gunboats linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) have fired at a tanker in Strait Of Hormuz.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said it had received a report of a tanker being fired at by what it described as “two gunboats linked to Iran’s IRGC” 20 nautical miles northeast of Oman.
The captain of the tanker said the two gunboats opened fire without issuing a radio challenge, adding that the vessel and its crew were reported safe.
