Iran says Hormuz is shut after warning shot at vessel
Tehran’s claim raises new pressure on a fragile U.S. ceasefire as Washington weighs its response and Oman seeks more talks.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
3 min read
Iran said it again regards the Strait of Hormuz as closed after what it described as a warning shot at a vessel traveling on an “unauthorized route,” the Associated Press reported. The claim threatens a fragile interim ceasefire with the United States and puts renewed pressure on one of the world’s most important energy corridors.
The White House and U.S. military officials did not immediately comment, according to the AP. They also did not say whether the United States was considering a military response.
The announcement came after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Saturday with Oman’s foreign minister to discuss the strait, the AP reported. Oman said the two governments agreed to continue talks on the waterway at both technical and political levels.
Strait remains central to ceasefire dispute
The Strait of Hormuz separates Iran and Oman and has long been treated internationally as an open waterway, according to the AP. Iran has argued since the war began that it should control the passage and charge ships that move through it.
The United States has urged ships to use a southern route through Oman’s territorial waters, the AP reported. Before the war, about one-fifth of globally traded oil and natural gas passed through the strait, according to the AP.
Iran’s wartime control of the route helped drive a global energy crisis, though the AP reported that oil prices have fallen sharply from wartime highs of $120 a barrel. The renewed closure claim follows days of Iranian attacks on ships and U.S. retaliation that damaged the interim deal intended to end the war, according to the AP.
Araghchi said his talks in Oman covered “appropriate mechanisms for ensuring the safe passage of ships,” according to the AP. He also accused Washington of breaching the interim deal by ending waivers that allowed Iran to sell crude oil on the open market in U.S. dollars.
Washington ended those waivers in response to attacks on ships in the strait, the AP reported. Araghchi wrote on X that “there can only be mutual compliance.”
Trump threatens more strikes
President Donald Trump said on social media that 1,000 missiles were “locked and loaded” and aimed at Iran, with thousands more ready to follow if Tehran acted on what he described as threats to assassinate him, the AP reported. Trump has said the ceasefire is over, while also saying negotiations would continue.
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 Feb. 28, according to the AP. In a statement carried on Iranian state television, Mojtaba Khamenei said Iranians would avenge his father’s killing.
U.S. officials, speaking anonymously to the AP on Friday, said recent strikes resumed after what they called a rogue faction of Iranian hard-liners sought to undermine the ceasefire. Iran has said its government is united under the new supreme leader, according to the AP.
After U.S. strikes ended Thursday, additional attacks were reported inside Iran, raising questions about who else may be targeting the country, the AP reported. Israel did not claim responsibility, and the AP reported that Gulf Arab states may have carried them out to deter further Iranian attacks.
Iran retaliated Thursday for U.S. strikes by targeting Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar, according to the AP. Iranian Health Ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour said strikes in Iran over two days killed at least 17 people and wounded 115 others.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.