Iran Declares Strait of Hormuz Closed After Warning Shot; US Begins New Strikes
Iran announced on Saturday that it considers the Strait of Hormuz closed after its forces fired a warning shot at a vessel that it said was using an 'unauthorised route'. The incident has further strained the fragile ceasefire agreement with the United States.
Shortly after Iran's announcement, U.S. Central Command said its forces had initiated a third round of strikes against Iranian targets. 'The United States is imposing a heavy cost by continuing to degrade Iran's ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the strait,' the military said in a statement.
A Cyprus-flagged container ship struck by Iran suffered 'significant engineroom damage' and a civilian crew member is missing, according to U.S. Central Command.
The developments come amid ongoing negotiations to cement a ceasefire deal reached last month. Senior U.S. officials had previously said that progress in talks hinges on the strait being secure, and that they expected Iran to publicly affirm the waterway's status as an international passage. Instead, Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps said in an online post that warning shots were fired at a 'violating ship' and that the strait would remain closed until further notice.
Iran and Oman's foreign ministers met on Saturday to discuss the strait, which lies between them. The meeting followed days of Iranian attacks on ships and U.S. retaliation, which have undermined the interim ceasefire agreement.
Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, issued his first statement since the funeral of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the war's opening strikes on February 28. 'Revenge is the will of our nation and must certainly be carried out,' the younger Khamenei said in a statement carried by state television. His remarks came hours after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened more missile attacks.
Oman said it and Iran agreed to continue discussions about the Strait of Hormuz 'at the technical and political levels', a day after the United States called on Iran to publicly declare the waterway open and safe for shipping.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he met with his Omani counterpart to discuss 'appropriate mechanisms for ensuring the safe passage of ships'.
The strait has long been considered an international waterway. Iran has insisted that it now controls the strait and that it should be allowed to charge ships passing through, a stance it adopted after the war began. The United States advises mariners to use a southern route through Oman's territorial waters.
Before the war, about a fifth of the world's traded oil and natural gas passed through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's control during the war triggered a global energy crisis, though crude prices have dropped from wartime highs of $120 a barrel.
Iran's top diplomat accused the United States of violating the interim deal by ending waivers that allowed Iran to sell crude oil in U.S. dollars. Washington ended the waivers in response to the ship attacks. 'Reality check: There can only be mutual compliance,' Araghchi wrote on social media.
President Trump said on social media that 'a thousand missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat'. He said he was responding to threats 'to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate' him. During the funeral of the former Supreme Leader, some mourners held posters calling for Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be killed.
Trump has declared the ceasefire over but said the United States would continue negotiations.
U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the resumption of strikes came after what they described as a rogue faction of Iranian hard-liners attempted to sabotage the ceasefire. Iran maintains that its government is unified under the new Supreme Leader.
