Iran closes Strait of Hormuz again over continued US blockade of its ports, state media says

Iran has reversed course on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, reimposing restrictions on the critical waterway after the US said it would not end its blockade of the Islamic Republic's ports.

The country’s joint military command said “control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state... under strict management and control of the armed forces”.

It warned that it would continue to block transit through the strait as long as the US blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect.

The announcement came the morning after US President Donald Trump said the American blockade “will remain in full force” until Tehran reaches a deal with the US, including on its nuclear program.

As recently as Friday, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said that in line with a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, the Strait of Hormuz was "completely open" for all commercial vessels.

Speaking at an event that evening, Trump said said that while the strait was “fully open and ready for full passage”, the US would “have to finish the deal before we open it for Iran”.

This appeared to present a red line for Tehran, with top Iranian officials claiming the US blockade violated a fragile ceasefire agreement between the two countries.

Early on Saturday, Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf posted on X that if the US blockade continued “the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open”.

Meanwhile data firm Kpler said movement through the strait remained confined to corridors requiring Iran’s approval.

The US and Iran are in the middle of a fragile truce which is due to last until April 22, while Israel and Lebanon have begun a 10-day ceasefire.

Asked by a reporter on Friday night what he will do if there’s no deal when a ceasefire with Iran expires next week, Trump said: “I don’t know. Maybe I won’t extend it, but the blockade is going to remain.

“But maybe I won’t extend it, so you’ll have a blockade and unfortunately we’ll have to start dropping bombs again.”

However, Trump also told reporters accompanying him aboard Air Force One to Washington that, “I think it’s going to happen,” referring to a deal.

Despite the escalation in the Strait of Hormuz, officials in Pakistan, who helped broker the current truce, say the United States and Iran are still moving closer to a deal ahead of the April 22 ceasefire deadline.

Speaking at a diplomatic forum in Antalya, Turkey, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said the separate ceasefire in Lebanon was a positive sign.

He noted that fighting between Israel and Hezbollah had been a key sticking point before talks in Islamabad ended “very close” to an agreement last weekend.

Pakistan is expected to host a second round of talks between Iran and the US early next week.

Questions remain over Lebanon truce

While mediators have been optimistic, it is unclear to what extent Hezbollah will abide by the truce between the Lebanese and Israeli governments.

The militant group did not play a role in ceasefire talks and has previously said it would not recognise the legitimacy of the negotiations, which have allowed Israel to continue occupying a stretch of southern Lebanon.

Trump said in another post that Israel is “prohibited” by the US from further strikes on Lebanon and that “enough is enough” in the Israel-Hezbollah war.

The State Department said the prohibition applies only to offensive attacks and not to actions taken in self-defence.

Shortly before Trump’s post, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel agreed to the ceasefire in Lebanon “at the request of my friend President Trump,” but that the campaign against Hezbollah is not complete.

He claimed Israel had destroyed about 90% of Hezbollah’s missile and rocket stockpiles and added that Israeli forces “have not finished yet” with the dismantling of the group.

In Beirut, displaced families began moving toward southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs despite warnings by officials not to return to their homes until it became clear whether the ceasefire would hold.

The Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon reported sporadic artillery shelling in some parts of southern Lebanon in the hours after the ceasefire took effect.

The war, which began with US and Israeli strikes on February 28 has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,290 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Meanwhile 13 US service members have been killed.