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Iran·Middle East·Energy·Diplomacy·Armed Conflicts

Iran threatens to close Strait of Hormuz again as US blockade standoff overshadows ceasefire[Updated]

Saturday, 18 April 2026, 06:02 · 1 min read
Updates
39d

Trump announced Sunday that a second round of negotiations would take place in Islamabad on Tuesday, with American negotiators set to travel to the Pakistani capital on Monday. U.S. forces struck and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel over the weekend, which Washington said had attempted to evade its naval blockade; Iran's joint military command vowed to respond and its foreign minister cited the seizure as evidence of American bad faith ahead of the planned talks, calling it 'armed piracy.' Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi held separate meetings Monday with the U.S. chargé d'affaires and the Iranian ambassador to finalize security and logistical arrangements, telling the Iranian envoy that preparations were complete. Two Pakistani officials said anonymously that Iran has expressed a willingness to send a delegation, though Iran's Foreign Ministry said publicly that no decision had been made and gave no official confirmation the talks would proceed.

Sources
40d

With no new peace talks scheduled as of Sunday and the Wednesday ceasefire deadline three days away, the standoff has exposed a sharp internal rift over who holds decision-making authority in Tehran. The IRGC, which answers solely to Supreme Leader Khamenei, has positioned itself as the arbiter of navigation conditions in the strait, directly contradicting Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's statement Friday that the waterway was open through a corridor 'coordinated by Iran' — a claim that also underpinned Trump's subsequent announcements of a broader agreement. Iranian gunboats and IRGC radio warnings have deterred commercial shipping even beyond the strait, raising fresh fears that the conflict could intensify before any diplomatic framework is agreed.

Sources
40d

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian publicly challenged the legal basis of Trump's nuclear demands on Sunday, asking 'who is he to deprive a nation of its rights?' after Trump asserted Tehran cannot exercise what Pezeshkian called its 'nuclear rights.' High-level mediation efforts in Pakistan wrapped up without producing an agreement, though mediators said they would continue pressing for a breakthrough before Wednesday's ceasefire deadline. Ghalibaf, speaking in his capacity as Iran's chief negotiator, said Tehran is 'fully prepared' for the United States to resume hostilities at any moment.

Sources
40d

Trump publicly warned Iran against using the Strait of Hormuz as a bargaining chip, saying he would not accept 'blackmail' over the waterway, even as he described ongoing conversations with Tehran as 'very good.' Qalibaf, identifying himself as Iran's chief negotiator, said the remaining unresolved issues may number 'just one or two,' though he declined to specify them. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, meanwhile, declared that Iran's navy stood ready to inflict 'new bitter defeats' on its adversaries, hardening Tehran's public posture as the ceasefire deadline approaches. The conflict, now in its eighth week, has already spread to Israeli strikes in Lebanon and driven oil prices sharply higher, with the strait's de facto closure cutting off a shipping lane that before the war carried roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies.

Sources
40d

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf acknowledged Sunday in a televised address that while there has been "progress" in talks with Washington, "there are many gaps and some fundamental points remain" unresolved. The admission marks the first public acknowledgment from a senior Iranian legislative official that any headway has been made, while reinforcing Tehran's broader position that a deal is far from imminent.

Sources
41d

Iran's Revolutionary Guard navy has sharply escalated its posture in the strait, firing on ships that attempted to pass after Tehran reversed the waterway's reopening. The Guard issued a sweeping warning that no vessel should move from its anchorage in the Persian Gulf or the Sea of Oman, and that any ship approaching the Strait of Hormuz would be considered as cooperating with the enemy and targeted. Images from the area show tankers anchored off Qeshm Island as the blockade standoff deepens.

Sources
41d

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said Sunday that negotiations with the United States cannot proceed until both sides agree on a shared framework for talks. He added that any agreement Iran enters into must fully preserve the country's rights under international law, signaling Tehran's intent to set firm preconditions before substantive diplomacy resumes.

Sources
41d

Iran has reversed its brief reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, with a spokesperson for the armed forces headquarters announcing Saturday that control of the waterway has returned to what it described as 'strict management and control of the armed forces.' The military command said Iran had agreed to allow a limited number of oil tankers and cargo ships to transit, but that the US had continued its blockade regardless, prompting the reversal. The restrictions will remain in place, Iran said, until the United States fully restores freedom of movement for ships traveling to and from Iranian ports.

Sources
41d

President Trump set a Wednesday deadline for a long-term deal, warning the US would resume bombing if no agreement is reached by the time the 10-day ceasefire expires. Iran's foreign ministry flatly rejected Trump's claim that Tehran had agreed to transfer its enriched uranium stockpile, insisting it would not be moved "anywhere." Iran also announced it would not impose traditional transit fees in the Strait of Hormuz but is drafting legislation to charge ship owners for "securing the strait," with all vessels required to obtain prior Iranian authorization and US and Israeli military ships barred entirely. Despite the tensions, Trump claimed there were no remaining "sticking points" in negotiations, a characterization Iranian officials publicly disputed.

Sources
Original story

Tehran has threatened to shut the Strait of Hormuz once more if the United States continues its naval blockade of Iranian ports, casting a shadow over a fragile ceasefire and complicating hopes of a broader peace deal. The warning came just a day after Iran declared the strategic waterway

Sources
Dawn — Trump says US blockade of Iranian ports will ‘remain’ if no deal reached ↗︎El País — El largo camino para restablecer el suministro energético tras la reapertura de Ormuz ↗︎France24 — Middle East live: Iran threatens to close Strait of Hormuz again if US blockade continues ↗︎Premium Times Nigeria — Iran declares Strait of Hormuz ‘completely open’ ↗︎
Also covered by
El País · Euronews · PBS NewsHour [1] [2] [3] [4] · RFI · taz · The Guardian · The Hindu [1] [2]
This article was automatically compiled by AI from the sources above. It may contain inaccuracies. Always read the original sources for the full context.