Iran: Because of the American blockade – we closed the Strait of Hormuz again

Less than a day after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi announced the full opening of the Strait of Hormuz, today (Saturday) the Emergency Command Khatam Al-Anbiya’ unexpectedly announced that control of the Strait is returning to the hands of Iranian forces, and that passage through it will be stopped. According to the spokesman of the headquarters, “control over the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state.” The announcement comes less than a day after Araqchi announced that the strait is open to commercial vessels in accordance with the ceasefire in Lebanon.

“Iran agreed to the controlled passage of a limited number of oil and trade tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, but the Americans continue the blockade while repeatedly violating their commitments,” claimed the spokesman of the headquarters that is actually managing the fighting. “Therefore, control of the Strait of Hormuz returns to its previous state – and it is under the strict management and control of Iran. As long as the US does not allow full freedom of movement of vessels to and from Iran, the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed.”

Tonight, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, spoke to reporters on the “Air Forest One” plane, and referred to the tense days leading up to the end of the ceasefire: “If a deal is not reached by next Wednesday, we may not extend the ceasefire.” Trump also clarified that in such a case the blockade of Iranian ports would continue and emphasized that the US might attack again. Meanwhile, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bakr Kalibaf, contradicted the president’s claims in a series of tweets: if the naval blockade continues, the Strait of Hormuz will be closed.

“Unfortunately, we will have to drop bombs again,” the president threatened as he continued to refer to the possibility of the talks failing. He also told reporters on the plane that he received “very good news” from the Middle East, but refused requests to expand on the matter and noted that negotiations continued over the weekend.