Iran warns it will shut the vital Strait of Hormuz if the US continues its naval blockade, casting doubt on fragile ceasefire gains and a potential peace deal.
WASHINGTON: Iran has threatened to shut the Strait of Hormuz once more if the United States continues its blockade of Iranian ports.
The warning came just hours after Iran announced it had reopened the strategic waterway following a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf stated that passage would require Iranian authorisation if the blockade persists.
“With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open,” he wrote on social media platform X.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei called the US naval action a violation of the ceasefire.
He asserted that “what they call a naval blockade will definitely be met with an appropriate response from Iran.”
The sour notes contrasted with optimism from US President Donald Trump, who told AFP a broader US-Iran peace deal was “very close”. He claimed Tehran had agreed to hand over its enriched uranium, a key sticking point in past negotiations.
“We’re going to get it by going in with Iran, with lots of excavators,” Trump said at an event in Arizona.
Iran immediately pushed back on the claim, stating its stockpile of enriched uranium was not going anywhere.
US Central Command reported that American forces have directed 21 ships to turn around since the blockade began this week.
The strategic waterway typically sees about a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas pass through it.
Despite the discord, Pakistani leaders pushed for the warring sides to finalise an agreement to end the war.
Their mediation led to historic face-to-face talks between Washington and Tehran envoys in Islamabad last week.
In a phone interview, Trump added to the hopeful tone. “Looks like it’s going to be very good for everybody. And we’re very close to having a deal,” he said, adding that there were “no sticking points at all” left with Tehran.
He later reiterated, however, that he planned to maintain the US naval blockade if a peace deal with Iran were not reached. Trump signalled he was open to extending the current two-week ceasefire with Iran after it expires on Wednesday.
“Maybe I won’t extend it, but the blockade is going to remain,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. The start of a 10-day ceasefire in Lebanon on Friday and the strait’s reopening marked progress in Washington’s push for a broader deal.
Tehran had insisted that halting the fighting between Israeli forces and Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah must be part of any larger agreement. In Lebanon, displaced families began returning to their homes in bomb-damaged south Beirut and southern towns.
“Our feelings are indescribable, pride and victory,” 37-year-old Amani Atrash told AFP. She added that she hoped the ceasefire would be extended.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah was not over. “We have not yet finished the job,” he said, adding that a key objective was the “dismantling of Hezbollah”.
Hezbollah warned it remained ready to respond to any Israeli violations. The fighting in Lebanon began when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel days after the wider Middle East war began.
