Iran Declares Hormuz Closed Again, Dashing Hopes for a Quick Return to Normal

The prospects for a return to normal shipping through the Strait of Hormuz are again in doubt less than a day after declarations of a reopening of the strategic waterway from President Trump and Iran drove down the price of oil and sent stock prices soaring.At least two merchant vessels reported they were hit by gunfire as they attempted to cross the strait on Saturday, according to maritime security and shipping sources quoted by Reuters and the Associated Press.Iranian authorities declared earlier Saturday that the status in the strait — a chokepoint controlling as much as 20 percent of the world’s oil supply — had “returned to its previous state,” in which the Islamic Republic threatens to fire on any vessels attempting to pass through without its approval.They said the closure would continue until America lifts its blockade of Iranian shipping and ports — something President Trump said Friday will not happen until negotiations on Iran’s nuclear ambitions and other issues are “100% complete.”Casting further doubt on the prospects for an early agreement to end the war, Iran’s deputy foreign minister told the AP in Antalya, Turkey, on Saturday that his country will not give up its stockpile of enriched uranium, rejecting a key American demand.Mr. Trump said on Friday that the United States will go into Iran and “get all the nuclear dust” in what was seen as a reference to Iran’s 970-pound horde of enriched uranium, all or most of which is thought to be buried under bombed-out nuclear sites.But Saeed Khatibzadeh told the AP that will not happen. “I can tell you that no enriched material is going to be shipped to United States. This is non-starter and I can assure you that while we are ready to address any concerns that we do have, we’re not going to accept things that are nonstarters,” he was quoted as saying.Mr. Trump largely brushed off the latest developments in remarks to reporters at the White House Saturday morning, saying the Iranians “can’t blackmail us” and that talks with Tehran are continuing.“It’s going actually along very well,” he said of the negotiations, “and we’ll see, but we’ll have some information by the end of the day. We’re talking to them, and you know, we’re taking a tough stand and they killed a lot of people. A lot of our people have been killed.”Hopes for an early end to the economic disruption caused by the war soared on Friday after Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, declared that the strait was “completely open” following the implementation of a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.Mr. Trump likewise posted on Truth Social saying, “The Strait of Hormuz is completely open and ready for business and full passage.” But he added, in a provision that appears to have been too much for the Iranian leaders, “the naval blockade will remain in full force and effect as it pertains to Iran, only, until such time as our transaction with Iran is 100% complete.”Roughly a dozen ships passed safely through the strait in the hours after the announcements while markets responded euphorically, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices soaring to all-time highs and the price of Brent crude oil — considered the benchmark — falling some 9 percent to $90.38.But hopes for a quick return to normal were dashed Saturday with Iran’s declaration that the strait was again closed to vessels linked to America and its allies.In a statement carried by Iranian media, the broadcaster IRIB quoted the military command of the hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps saying America has “continued acts of piracy and maritime theft under the guise of a so-called blockade.”“For this reason, control of the strait of Hormuz has reverted to its previous state, and this strategic waterway is under the strict management and control of the armed forces.”The website Seatrade Maritime News reported multiple vessels had been fired upon Saturday and that at least four ships bound for the strait had turned around and headed back into the Gulf.The site quoted United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a Royal Navy-led organization, saying a container ship had been “hit by an unknown projectile which caused damage to some of the containers” at a location about 25 nautical miles northeast of Oman in the strait. It said there were no reports of fires or environmental impact.In another report attributed to UKMTO, the site said the master of another tanker “reports being approached by 2 IRGC gun boats, no VHF challenge that then fired upon the tanker. Tanker and crew are reported safe.”Even earlier, there had been indications that Iran’s leadership, severely disrupted by Israeli airstrikes targeting top officials, was not fully on board with Mr. Araghchi’s declaration of a reopening of Hormuz.Iran’s Fars news agency, which is close to the IRGC, was quoted by al Jazeera noting a “strange silence from the Supreme National Security Council,” the country’s top decision-making body.Al Jazeera also quoted a senior military official telling state media in Iran that only nonmilitary vessels would be allowed to pass through the strait and that they would require permission from the IRGC Navy.

Iran Declares Hormuz Closed Again, Dashing Hopes for a Quick Return to Normal

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