Iran Publishes Chart Showing It May Have Put Sea Mines In Strait of Hormuz
dubai : Semi-official news agencies in Iran published a chart on Thursday suggesting that the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards had planted naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz during the war. This message may be aimed at putting pressure on the United States as uncertainty about the two-day ceasefire continues and negotiations are expected to continue in Pakistan.
The shaky ceasefire remains largely between the United States, Israel and Iran, although Tehran and Washington have offered very different accounts of the initial terms.
Israel insists the agreement does not apply to its war against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and has stepped up deadly attacks there, leading Iran to claim it has violated the agreement. Meanwhile, Iran said it had won an agreement to control the Strait of Hormuz, collect tolls and enrich uranium, while Trump said the agreement calls for the reopening of the strait and for Iran to hand over its uranium stockpile.
The map of the Strait of Hormuz was published by ISNA news agency as well as Tasnim, which is thought to be close to the Guard. They showed a large circle marked “danger zone” in Persian on the Traffic Separation Plan, the route through which ships pass through the strait, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of oil and gas trade once passed.
The map shows the ships heading further north through waters closer to the Iranian mainland near Larak Island, a route some ships were observed following during the war. The date was from February 28 to Thursday, April 9, and it was unclear whether the Guard had cleared any mines along the route since then.
Oil rose back above $97 a barrel and Asian stocks traded lower on Thursday on doubts about a ceasefire. Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 2.9% to $97.46 per barrel. After the temporary ceasefire announcement, it briefly fell below $92. Benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 3.7% to $97.94 per barrel on Thursday.
Ship tracking data from Kpler showed that only four ships with Automatic Identification System trackers passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, the first day of the ceasefire. However, this does not include the so-called “dark fleet” ships that travel with their AIS trackers turned off. Many of these “dark fleet” ships transport sanctioned Iranian crude oil to the open market.
Trump says US forces will remain in region US President Donald Trump has issued a statement insisting that warships and troops will remain around Iran “until full compliance with the REAL DEAL reached.”
Trump’s comments on the Truth Social platform appeared to be a way to pressure Iran.
“If for some reason it doesn’t happen, which is highly unlikely, then the ‘Shooting’ Starts’ will be bigger, better and stronger than anyone has ever seen before,” Trump wrote.
He also emphasized that Iran cannot build nuclear weapons and that “the Strait of Hormuz WILL BE OPEN and SAFE.”
The United States and Iran declared victory after reaching a ceasefire agreement, and world leaders expressed relief. However, after the agreement was announced, more drones and missiles hit Iran and Gulf Arab countries.
Israel also intensified its attacks on Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group on Wednesday, hitting commercial and residential areas in Beirut. At least 182 people were killed in the deadliest day of fighting there. First responders searched through the night for missing people still buried under rubble following the deadly Israeli attacks.
A fragile ceasefire The violence has threatened to unravel what US Vice President J.D. Vance called a “fragile” agreement.
Iran’s parliament speaker said on Wednesday that the planned talks were “unreasonable” because Washington had violated three of 10 conditions Tehran offered to end the conflict. In a social media post, Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf objected to Israeli attacks on Hezbollah, including allegations of a drone strike on Iranian airspace after the ceasefire came into effect and the US refused to accept any Iranian enrichment capabilities in the final agreement.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted that ending the war in Lebanon was part of the ceasefire agreement, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump said the ceasefire did not include Lebanon. When the agreement was announced, the Pakistani prime minister, who acted as a mediator, said in a social media post that the agreement applies to “everywhere, including Lebanon and other places.”
A New York-based think tank has warned that the ceasefire is “on the verge of collapse”.
The Soufan Center said Israel’s attack on Lebanon on Wednesday increased the risk of the agreement breaking down.
“Even if Lebanon is officially outside the agreement, the scale of Israeli attacks would still likely be seen as escalatory,” he wrote in an analysis published Thursday. “Israel’s attacks can be understood both as an effort to drive a wedge between Iran and its proxies and as a reaction to allegedly being sidelined in the initial ceasefire discussions.”
Peace talks are expected in Pakistan. The White House said Vice President JD Vance will lead the US delegation in talks aimed at ending the war, which is planned to start on Saturday in Islamabad.
Iran’s ambassador said Iran’s negotiating team will arrive in Islamabad on Thursday night.
Reza Amiri Moghadam wrote on
Those points include Iran enriching uranium, maintaining control over the Strait of Hormuz and other issues that have been non-starters for Trump in the past. The White House has repeatedly described the 10 articles published by Iran as false.
Moghadam wrote that the Iranians would come to Islamabad despite “skepticism from the Iranian public due to the Israeli regime’s repeated ceasefire violations in an attempt to sabotage the diplomatic initiative,” possibly referring to Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
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