Trump says he will 'not be blackmailed' after Iranian gunboats fire on tanker and close Strait of Hormuz again
Iran says the vital waterway will stay closed until the US blockade is lifted, as the standoff surrounding the Strait continues
Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz again, just hours after a convoy of tankers passed through the major shipping route.
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The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) issued a statement saying that control of the Strait of Hormuz has now “returned to its previous state” because of the US’s continuing blockade of Iranian ports.
The IRGC Navy has now said that the vital waterway will stay closed until the US blockade is lifted, according to Iranian state media.
Iran’s IRIB broadcaster shared an IRGC statement that said the United States 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 returned to its previous state, and this strategic waterway is now under strict management and control by the armed forces,” it said.
“Until the United States restores full freedom of navigation for vessels travelling from Iran to their destinations and back, the status of the Strait of Hormuz will remain tightly controlled and in its previous condition."
The UK Maritime Trade Operations is reporting that a tanker northeast of Oman was approached by two IRGC gunboats, which then fired on it.
Read more: Iran deal 'should progress quickly' amid Strait of Hormuz opening, Trump declares
Meanwhile, Axios, citing a US official, has reported that there have been at least three attacks on ships in the strait since the re-closure.
At least one ship was hit and suffered some damage, but there were no reports of injuries, the official said.
Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, issued a written statement warning his country's “enemies” that the Iranian navy is ready to make them “taste the bitterness of new defeats”.
Meanwhile, Iran's leadership has repeated its claim that ships must pay to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
According to a statement from the national security council, shared by the Iranian state Fars news agency, Iran said it is determined to exercise supervision and control over traffic through the strait "until the war is definitively ended" and a lasting peace is achieved in the region.
It added that this would be achieved by receiving complete information from passing vessels, issuing a certificate of passage and "paying the costs related to security, safety, and environmental protection services".
Earlier, US President Donald Trump rejected the prospect of ships paying to pass through the strait
Trump later addressed the closure during a press conference on Saturday, saying, "It's working out very well".
"They got a little cute as they have been doing for 47 years," he said.
He also reiterated claims that the US had mostly eliminated the country's navy, air force and leadership.
"They wanted to close up the strait again as they have been doing for years, they can't blackmail us.
"We'll have some information by the end of the day. We're talking to them, we're taking a tough stand."
But Iran's deputy foreign minister has said there will be no further in-person peace talks with the US until it changes its "maximalist" demands.
Speaking at a diplomacy forum in Turkey, Saeed Khatibzadeh said Iran was seeking the finalisation of a "framework agreement" before moving to another meeting.
"We are still not there yet to move on to an actual meeting because there are issues that the Americans have not yet abandoned their maximalist position".
However, there have been many exchanges of messages between the parties in recent days, Khatibzadeh said.
He added Iran would not hand over its enriched uranium to the US, describing the idea as a "non-starter".
Earlier this week, the White House said a second round of discussions would likely be held in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, with Pakistan a key mediator between the two countries.
The closure of the strait comes just hours after vessel traffic data showed that a number of ships have started passing through the Strait, in what has been called the "first major movement" of tankers since the conflict began in February.
Several oil and chemical product tankers could be seen travelling through it, according to data from MarineTraffic.
Ships initially appeared to be wary of going through it when it reopened on Friday, but things appeared to have picked up by early Saturday morning.
Speaking to reporters on board Air Force One, Mr Trump said: "We're negotiating over the weekend".
He added that he has some "good news" that he cannot share yet.
Mr Trump also threatened to go into Iran to seize enriched uranium, which he called "nuclear dust" - saying that the regime will “never have a nuclear weapon.”
During the speech, Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf posted that due to the US blockade the "Strait of Hormuz will not remain open”.
Qalibaf added that passage through the strait will be “conducted based on the ‘designated route’ and with Iranian authorization."
“Whether the strait is open or closed and the regulations governing it will be determined by the field, not by social media,” he continued.
After effectively closing the world's busiest oil shipping channel for weeks in response to the US-Israeli attacks, Iran's foreign minister Seyed Abbas Aragchi said the passage would now be open for "all commercial vessels".
Writing on X, the Iranian official said: "In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep. of Iran."