Iran’s military said the U.S. must lift its blockade of Iranian ports before the vital waterway is reopened.
Iran’s military reimposed strict control over the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, demanding that the U.S. must lift its blockade of Iranian ports before the vital waterway is opened again, a move U.S. President Donald Trump rejected as “blackmail.”
The move came as Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) gunboats fired on a tanker attempting to transit the strait.
“Control over the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state, and this strategic waterway is now under strict management and control of the armed forces,” a spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya military command headquarters said in comments carried by state-controlled Tasnim news.
The strait will remain restricted “until America allows full freedom of navigation for vessels traveling from Iran,” the spokesperson said. Iran’s security council said it is “determined” to control the Strait of Hormuz until the end of the war, and called the continuing U.S. blockade on Iranian ports a “breach of the ceasefire.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned that the Iranian navy was ready to inflict “new bitter defeats” on the U.S. and Israel, in a message read on Iranian state TV.
The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that two IRGC gunboats had opened fire on a tanker 20 nautical miles northeast of Oman without issuing a radio challenge. The vessel’s captain reported the incident to UKMTO; no injuries were reported and the tanker was said to be safe.
In a separate incident, an unknown projectile hit a container vessel, damaging some of the containers, the UKMTO said.
Trump said Tehran “got a little cute” by reimposing its blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, adding: “They can’t blackmail us.”
But Trump also said that talks with Iran are “working out really well” despite the renewed closure of the strait, adding that he would have “some information” on the discussions “by the end of the day.”
The renewed closure of the strait came after Trump said the American naval blockade of Iranian ports “will remain in full force” until Tehran reaches a deal with Washington, including on its nuclear program.
Iranian foreign ministry earlier rejected any possibility of transferring Iran’s enriched uranium to another country, stressing that such an option has never been considered. Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei on Friday emphasized that Iran’s enriched uranium will under no circumstances be transferred elsewhere, rejecting a suggestion by Trump that Washington would work with Iran to recover its enriched uranium, which would be moved to the U.S., according to reports.
“I can tell you that no enriched material is going to be shipped to United States,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh told the Associated Press in an interview on Saturday. “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 non-starters.”
Trump convened a White House Situation Room meeting on Saturday to discuss the renewed crisis around the Strait of Hormuz and negotiations with Iran, Axios reported, citing two U.S. officials.
The U.S. Treasury Department, meanwhile, on Friday extended its temporary waiver on sanctions on Russian oil shipments to ease shortages from the Iran war, days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ruled out such a move. The Trump administration did not immediately explain the reversal.
The renewed waiver issued late Friday permits countries to purchase Russian oil loaded on vessels as of Friday through May 16. The earlier waiver expired on April 11.