Tehran: Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday over alleged ceasefire violations by the US and Israel days, Iranian media reported.
Iran’s top joint military command Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters announced that the critical waterway will be closed to vessel traffic, according to Mehr state news agency.
The military command said in a statement that the closure was being implemented in response to what it called a “clear breach of trust” by the US and Israel’s continued violations of the ceasefire in southern Lebanon.
The worrying news from Tehran came even as US Vice-President JD Vance told Fox News that America had seen no evidence suggesting the Strait of Hormuz had been closed to maritime traffic.
Vance said he was confident the ceasefire outlined in Washington’s 14-point agreement with Tehran would hold.
“In view of the flagrant bad faith and breach of covenant by America regarding the failure to implement the first clause of the end-of-war agreement, and in reaction to the relentless and continuous violation of the ceasefire by the Zionist regime in southern Lebanon and the brutal massacre and displacement of hundreds of thousands of the oppressed people of this land, and also in light of the occupying Zionist forces’ refusal to withdraw from the lands of southern Lebanon, it declares that the Strait of Hormuz will be closed to the passage of vessels,” Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) wrote in a post on X.
IRGC warned ships against approaching the Hormuz and added that their security could be at risk if they do so.
Describing this as the “first step” in its response, the Iranian army warned that additional measures could follow if the “aggression” continued.
The Strait of Hormuz handles more than one-fourth of global oil and gas shipments. Any disruption in this strategic but narrow waterway affects most other nations as energy prices shoot up.
That was the case for three-and-a-half months since US and Israel attacked Iran, as first Tehran and then US Navy put in place blockades in Hormuz. Just when maritime traffic seemed to be returning to normalcy following the truce deal, the latest closure by Iran will frustrate the rest of the world yet again.
Israel and Hezbollah did agree to a ceasefire in Lebanon on Friday after a surge in fighting, but Saturday saw a fresh round of aggression. Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon reportedly killed 16 people, thereby jeopardising a durable regional settlement.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Switzerland for the first round of talks with Iran on a potential nuclear agreement, Axios reported citing an American official.
The Iranian media also reported that a negotiating team was heading to Switzerland soon for talks.
