This Saturday, amid the new blockade, Iranian speedboats opened fire on an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz
The passage through the Strait of Hormuz gained another chapter this Saturday (18) with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy warning that any ship that approaches the region will be targeted. “We warn that no vessel whatsoever should leave its anchorage point in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. Any attempt to approach the Strait of Hormuz will be considered cooperation with the enemy and the offending vessel will be considered a target,” according to a statement published on Sepah News.
This Saturday, amid the new lockdown, the British maritime security agency reported, after the Iranian Army announced the closure of the shipping route.
The statement comes on the same day that Iran closed the strait again . On Friday (17) the passage had been reopened, which was well received on the stock exchanges and generated optimism in Washington. However, this Saturday’s decision once again changed the course of things.
US President Donald Trump warned Iran. “We’re talking to them. They wanted to close the strait again – you know, like they’ve been doing for years – and they can’t blackmail us,” Trump said at a White House event.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Motjaba Khamenei said the Navy is prepared to inflict “new defeats” on the enemy. “The valiant navy of the Iranian Army is ready to inflict new and bitter defeats on its enemies.”, wrote Khamenei on his account on X (formerly Twitter).
Negotiations with the United States
Rounds of negotiations between Iran, the United States and Pakistan in Islamabad │JACQUELYN MARTIN / POOL / AFP
Despite the supreme leader’s statement and the warning about the Strait of Hormuz, Iran informed that it has received new proposals from the United States to end the war in the Middle East, but stressed that it will not make any “concessions”. “Iran is analyzing and has not yet responded,” said Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. The Iranian negotiating delegation “will not make the slightest concession” and “will defend the nation’s interests with all its strength,” it added.
On April 11, the United States and Iran met to negotiate the terms of the ceasefire and concluded talks on Monday (13). This is the most important commitment since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.
Among the various issues at stake was the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit point for global energy supplies that Iran has effectively blocked but which the US has promised to reopen, as well as Iran’s nuclear program and international sanctions against Tehran.
As Iran’s demands included a guaranteed permanent ceasefireassurances that there would be no future attacks against Iran and its allies in the region, lifting of primary and secondary sanctions, unfreezing of all assets, recognition of its right to enrichment and continued control of Hormuz, Iranian sources said.
On Friday (17), US President Donald Trump said that an agreement to end the war in Iran could be achieved soonalthough the timing remains uncertain.
What is the Strait of Hormuz?
Strait of Hormuz │GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP
The Strait of Hormuz was closed on February 28 after an attack by the United States and Israel against Iran. The sea passage located between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, . Approximately 20 million barrels of crude oil pass through its waters daily, a volume that is equivalent to around 20% of global consumption of the commodity. Understanding the geography and political chess of this route is essential to explain why a possible closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran could cause a collapse in the global economy
