Tehran: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has declared the Strait of Hormuz blocked since Saturday, warning it will remain closed until the United States lifts its naval blockade. The move escalates tensions in the crucial oil transit route, raising global concerns over energy supply disruptions and maritime security.
In a statement carried by its official news outlet Sepah News, the IGRC said that the move came after the United States violated its commitments under the two-week ceasefire, which took effect on April 8, and failed to end its naval blockade against Iranian vessels and ports, Xinhua news agency reported.
The IRGC Navy called on all vessels and their owners to follow official updates via its channel and VHF Channel 16, the international maritime distress, safety, and calling frequency. The statements by US President Donald Trump hold no credibility in the strait and the Gulf, it added.
The IRGC warned that no vessel should move from its anchorage in the Gulf or the Gulf of Oman, and any approach to the strait would be deemed “cooperation with the enemy” and targeted accordingly.
Iran had tightened control over the strait since February 28, when it barred passage to vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States after the two countries’ joint strikes on Iranian territory. The United States later imposed its own blockade on the waterway after peace negotiations with Iran in Pakistan’s Islamabad collapsed.
On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said the strait would remain “completely open” to commercial shipping during the current truce with the United States, in line with the announcement of the ceasefire in Lebanon.
However, Trump said Friday the US naval blockade would “remain in full force,” noting that the United States would not lift it until the country makes a deal with Iran. He then said Saturday that Iran cannot “blackmail” the United States with the strait.
More World News on www.mediaeyenews.com
Photo: Xinhua
–IANS
