Iran closes strait of Hormuz again ‘until US lifts blockade’ | Iran
Iranian officials said they were reversing the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and reimposing restrictions on the vital shipping lane after the United States said it would not end its blockade of Iranian ports.
A UK maritime agency reported that on Saturday, ships belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) opened fire on a tanker trying to pass through the strait.
Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya joint military command said in a statement on Saturday that Tehran had restored the strait to its “previous status” and that it was now “under the strict management and control of the armed forces.”
Iran said the restrictions would continue unless Washington “provides full freedom of navigation for ships traveling from Iran to their destinations and from Iran to Iran.”
This was reiterated by the country’s deputy foreign minister, Saeed Khatibzadeh, and the IRGC’s naval command.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the annual Turkish diplomatic forum held in Antalya, Hatibzadeh said that “while Iran is trying in good faith to facilitate safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, the United States cannot impose its will to surround Iran.”
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Iran officially closed the strait on March 4 in response to US-Israeli airstrikes on the country and declared it open again on Friday, following the signing of a 10-day ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon as part of broader negotiations to achieve peace in the region.
The UK’s Merchant Marine Operations Center said: received a report from a tanker 20 nautical miles northeast of Oman where “two IRGC gunboats” approached and then fired. The captain said there was no advance radio warning. The tanker and crew were reported safe and authorities were investigating the incident, the agency added.
The announcement of Iran’s U-turn came a day after Donald Trump said the US blockade “will remain in full force” until a permanent peace deal is reached with Tehran. The US president also said the temporary ceasefire with Iran, brokered by Pakistan and set to expire on Wednesday, may not be extended.
US and Iranian delegations are expected to hold a second round of peace talks, but the timing has not yet been confirmed. Agence France-Presse reported that Egypt’s foreign minister said on Saturday that there were hopes of reaching an agreement “in the coming days.”
“We hope to do this [reach an agreement] “In the coming days,” Badr Abdelatty said, “Not only our region, but the whole world is suffering from the continuation of this war.”
At least eight oil and gas tankers had passed through the open strait early Saturday before Iran’s return, according to maritime monitoring data.
About 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the bottleneck, which has become the focal point of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. Its closure caused energy prices to rise worldwide.
