Oil tankers and gas tankers were affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, leading to a global energy crisis stemming from the war in the Middle East.
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Iran said Saturday that it has reimposed the closure of the Strait of Hormuz less than a day after reopening it to shipping traffic, blaming the U.S. for its ongoing blockade of Iranian ports.
On Friday, Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz is open to commercial ships during a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, but confusion quickly emerged about whether the sea lane was really open without conditions.
Iranian state media said on Saturday that the strait has since closed due to the U.S. failing to hold up its end of the bargain.
“Iran agreed to allow a limited number of ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz according to agreements,” the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) service said in a post on X.
“But U.S. did not fulfill their obligations. So, the Strait of Hormuz is now closed again and passage requires IRAN approval,” IRIB said.
Iranian state media also aired a statement from Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Ebrahim Zolfaghari detailing the reimposition of vessel restrictions on the strait, MS Now reported.
Zolfaghari said that “control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state … under strict management and control of the armed forces.” He warned that Iran would continue to block transit through the strait as long as a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect.
Tanker under fire
Shortly after the Iranian statements, the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations said a tanker reported being fired on by two gunboats operated by Iran’s IRGC. The incident happened 20 nautical miles northeast of Oman, the UKMTO said. The tanker and its crew were reported safe, and authorities are investigating, the UKMTO said.
Before Saturday’s developments, President Donald Trump sounded optimistic about the progress of peace talks with Iran and said negotiations are continuing as a fragile ceasefire held.
“We had some pretty good news 20 minutes ago, but it seems to be going very well in the Middle East with Iran,” Trump told reporters traveling to Washington late Friday aboard Air Force One, according to MS Now. “We’ll know over a little period of time. We’re negotiating over the weekend.”
Earlier on Friday, Trump had thanked Iran for opening the strait in a social media post. But Trump said the U.S. naval blockade of Iran’s ports will stay in effect until an agreement is reached with Tehran.
Trump added that he likely would not extend the two-week ceasefire that’s due to end on Wednesday. U.S. and Israeli forces began an aerial campaign against Iranian targets on Feb. 28. Trump agreed to the ceasefire on April 7 in exchange for Iran completely opening the strait.
Peace talks in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, between a U.S. delegation led by Vice President JD Vance and Iranian negotiators headed by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf failed to reach an agreement last weekend.
Confusion over Hormuz
“Maybe I won’t extend it, but the blockade is going to remain. But maybe I won’t extend it, so you have a blockade, and unfortunately, we’ll have to start dropping bombs again,” Trump said.
Also on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on social media: “In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire.”
However, vessels must transit through a “coordinated route” announced by Iran’s maritime authorities, Araghchi said. It is unclear whether Tehran will force ships to pay a toll to pass the strait.
Israel and Lebanon agreed Thursday to a 10-day ceasefire starting at 5 p.m. ET that evening. Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon against the militant group Hezbollah, which is a close ally of Iran, has been another hurdle in negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
But the confusion over the strait’s status has left ship operators in a state of limbo.
Video footage from ship-tracking firm Kpler showed that a number of tankers and cargo ships tried to exit the waterway on Friday but turned back.
“They’ve clearly not been given approval to pass through,” Matt Smith, director of commodity research at Kpler, told CNBC.
Oil prices plunged more than 10% on Friday to below $90 per barrel. About a fifth of the world’s crude supplies passed through the strait before the war. The closure of the sea lane connecting the Persian Gulf to global energy markets has triggered the largest oil supply disruption in history.
Another major sticking point in the negotiations has been the issue of recovering material from Iran’s nuclear program. Trump told reporters on Air Force One that the U.S. will “go in with Iran and we will take it together, and we will bring it back, 100% of it back to the United States.”
“We’ll take it after the agreement is signed,” he said.
