Iran HALTS ships in Strait of Hormuz and issues new demand as Trump’s crumbling ceasefire faces furious Republican backlash

Iran has intercepted oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz, launched a drone attack on a Saudi oil pipeline and demanded that Israel stop its attacks on Lebanon as Donald Trump’s ceasefire deal faced a fierce backlash from its own allies.

Two tankers were allowed to pass through the Bosphorus on Wednesday morning as a two-week ceasefire with the United States came into effect, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported.

However, the agency later reported that the crossing had been suspended, saying it was stopped ‘simultaneously with Israeli attacks on Lebanon’.

Iran has also threatened to destroy oil tankers if they try to pass through the Bosphorus without permission, as the regime imposes a fee of up to $2 million per ship.

According to the FT, Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline, a critical artery that directs crude oil from the Gulf to the Red Sea, was attacked by a drone at 13:00 local time.

The country’s army stated that Kuwaiti air defense intercepted 28 UAVs in continuous attacks targeting oil facilities, power plants and water desalination infrastructure since 08:00 on Wednesday morning, adding that the attacks were still continuing.

Trump faces fierce backlash from his most ardent supporters over ceasefire and 10-point peace plan; Amid fears that this plan would yield too many concessions to Tehran, even its own White House is being forced to clarify its claims about the terms of the agreement.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham demanded that J.D. Vance appear before Congress and explain the terms of the deal after the dovish Vice President led 11th-hour peace talks brokered by Pakistan.

Graham wrote in X: “In my view, there are some troubling aspects of the so-called negotiation document, but time will tell.”

‘I look forward to the Vice President and others who are the architects of this proposal coming to Congress and explaining how a negotiated agreement meets our national security goals in Iran.’

Amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, smoke rises from the direction of Mehrabad airport in Tehran, Iran, April 7

The Strait of Hormuz controls about 20 percent of the world’s oil and natural gas, but was effectively closed by Iran on February 28 in retaliation for joint US-Israeli attacks.

Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska said Trump had achieved ‘significant victories’ but expressed skepticism about the peace talks and the President’s claims of ‘total victory’.

“The government is still in place and we have to negotiate from a position of strength, not a good position for them,” he told CNN.

‘They will work with Russia and China as soon as possible to start rebuilding their militaries. And five, six, seven, eight years from now they will pose a threat. Therefore, there has been no complete victory as long as this government has been in office.’

Pro-Israel Trump ally Laura Loomer predicted the ceasefire would ‘fail’.

‘The negotiation is negative for our country. “We haven’t really gotten anything out of this and the terrorists in Iran are celebrating,” he wrote to X. ‘I don’t know why people act like this is a victory.’

Mark Levin, another pro-Israel commentator with close ties to Trump, said the Iranians cannot be trusted, although the President trusts his “gut instincts.”

‘This enemy is still an enemy; “For Iran, they are still alive,” he said.

Iran publicly announced the 10-point framework of the peace agreement and demanded that the United States accept Tehran’s continued control over the Bosphorus, recognize its right to enrich uranium, lift all sanctions, pay compensation and withdraw all its troops from the region.

Trump last night described the points of the peace proposal as ‘a workable basis on which to negotiate’.

But a White House official said those points did not match what Trump meant in his Truth Social post.

Trump said on Wednesday: ‘These are very good points and most of them have been fully negotiated. If it’s not good, we’ll come back very easily.’

Trump described the agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as a ‘joint venture’ and also promised that the US would work with Iran to eliminate Iran’s uranium enrichment capacity.

Iranians burn US and Israeli flags at a protest in Tehran’s Enghelab Square following a two-week ceasefire declaration

Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, are likely to find it extremely unpleasant if Tehran continues to control traffic on the vital oil transit.

The President wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday: ‘There will be no uranium enrichment and the US will work with Iran to dig up and clean up all the deeply buried nuclear “dust” (B-2 bombers).’

The White House said the safety of the uranium was verified before the 11th hour deal was made.

Trump claimed that the nuclear facility had been closely monitored since it was bombed and said, “Nothing has been touched since the date of the attack.”

It’s unclear whether Trump was referring to the U.S. bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities in June or more recent attacks during the current Iran war.

Trump said tariffs and sanctions relief were being discussed as part of a peace plan with “many” points already agreed upon.

Iran has already begun outlining a plan to generate billions of dollars in revenue from the reopened Strait of Hormuz.

The exact terms have not yet been determined, but ships are required to declare their cargo, destination and owners to intermediary companies affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC); Tolls will be at least $1 per barrel, payable in Chinese yuan or cryptocurrency.

Trump welcomed the idea, telling the ABC: ‘We are considering doing this as a joint venture. This is one way to secure it; it is also a way to secure it from many other people.

‘This is a beautiful thing.’

The Bosphorus, through which one fifth of the world’s oil passes, is called the ‘Tehran Tollbooth’ by analysts and traders.

The average bill for a single tanker is $2 million, and only once payment is clear will IRGC patrol boats escort the ship through the ‘toll booth’.

Some analysts believe this plan could bring Iran as much as $500 billion in revenue over five years.

Despite the narrowing of the strait, oil prices fell on Wednesday. Global benchmark Brent crude oil fell 13 percent to $95 per barrel after reaching $118 at the peak of the conflict.

Hamid Hosseini, spokesman for the Iranian Association of Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters, said cargo checks were necessary to prevent the transportation of weapons.

“Iran needs to monitor what goes in and out of the strait to ensure that these two weeks are not used for arms transfers,” an industrial association with close ties to the regime told the FT. he said.

“Anything can pass, but the procedure will take time for each ship and Iran is in no rush,” he added.

Hosseini’s comments indicate that the ships should dock on the northern Iranian coast of the Bosphorus, which will cause alarm among marine insurers.

Iranians burned US and Israeli flags on Wednesday, April 8, 2026

A boat approaches the St Kitts and Nevis-flagged container ship Marsa Victory as it navigates the Strait of Hormuz waters off the coast of Khasab on Oman’s northern Musandam peninsula on June 25.

Tankers in the Persian Gulf on Wednesday received a radio warning from Iranian authorities that they would be targeted if they did not receive transit approval.

‘If any ship attempts to pass without permission, [they] It will be destroyed,’ it said in the English broadcast.

Western shipping giants were scrambling to determine whether the Bosphorus had actually reopened.

Maersk, the world’s second-largest shipping company, said it was ‘working urgently’ to clarify the terms.

‘A ceasefire may create transit opportunities, but does not yet provide complete maritime certainty,’ he said, adding that he was maintaining a ‘cautious approach’ and would not change any routes immediately.

If Iran maintains its control of the Strait, it will raise explosive questions for the oil producers’ cartel, OPEC+, and redraw the balance of power in the region.

Saudi Arabia, one of the group’s most powerful members, finds Iran’s control of the waterway unacceptable. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had called on Trump to crush the Iranian regime before the ceasefire.

Ali Shihabi, a commentator close to the Saudi royal court, told the FT: ‘Allowing Iran to have any control over the strait would be a red line. The priority should be unobstructed access through the Bosphorus.’