By Partner News Agency
At least three vessels attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz reported being hit by gunfire after Iran’s military declared on Saturday it was once again closing the chokepoint in response to the United States’ blockade of Iranian ports, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The move came a day after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the strait was now open to all commercial vessels in the wake of the ceasefire reached in Lebanon.
An outgoing convoy of eight tankers transited the waterway before the renewed closure was announced, Reuters reported. It was the first major movement of vessels through the strait since the war began on Feb. 28, the report read.
Tehran’s tightening control over the strait comes on the backdrop of bellicose rhetoric.
Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said Iran’s navy was ready to inflict “new bitter defeats” on its enemies, according to Reuters.
The strait was restored to its “previous status” and is now “under strict management and control by the armed forces,” an Iranian engineering firm controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Khatam al-Anbiya, was quoted by The Guardian as saying.
Iraian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh was cited by The Guardian as saying, “[The U.S.] cannot impose their will to do a siege over Iran, while Iran, with good intention, is trying to facilitate safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.”
Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office on Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump said that Tehran “got a little cute …, they wanted to close up the strait again. … they can’t blackmail us,” Axios correspondent Barak Ravid reported.
The president added that by the end of the day, he would know whether the sides would close in on a lasting agreement.
On Friday, Trump said on Truth Social that the chokepoint was “completely open and ready for business” while the U.S. blockade on Iran remains intact.
In a separate post, he added, “Iran has agreed to never close the Strait of Hormuz again. It will no longer be used as a weapon against the World! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Speaking at a Turning Point USA event in Arizona on April 17, the president said that the U.S. “will go in together with Iran” to excavate the enriched uranium reportedly buried deep underground after earlier airstrikes on nuclear facilities.
“That’s so deep we need the biggest excavators you can imagine,” he continued. “We’re going to take it back home to the USA very soon.”
US President Donald Trump says Iran’s uranium would be transferred to the United States under a potential peace deal, adding Washington would work with Tehran to extract it from nuclear sites using the “biggest excavators,” as it is potentially deep underground after facilities… pic.twitter.com/WlMzDILdGH— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng)April 18, 2026
Asked by reporters on Friday aboard Air Force One what happens if the ceasefire is not extended by Wednesday, Trump replied, “Maybe I won’t extend it, but the blockade [on Iranian ports] is going to remain. So you have a blockade, and unfortunately, we have to start dropping bombs again.”
“If you don’t have a deal by Wednesday when the ceasefire ends, will you extend the ceasefire?”@POTUS: “I don’t know. Maybe I won’t extend it — but the blockade is going to remain… Unfortunately, we’ll have to start dropping bombs again.” pic.twitter.com/rhC6ATfezT— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47)April 18, 2026
He added, however, that “We had some pretty good news 20 minutes ago, but it seems to be going very well in the Middle East with Iran. You’ll hear about. I just think it’s something that should happen. It’s something that only makes sense to happen. And I think it will. We’ll see what happens, but I think it will,” per The Guardian.
Meanwhile, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said on Saturday that his country, Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were working together on a security arrangement for the Middle East that will prevent the resumption of the war and ensure the stability of energy markets, supply chains and food security, Reuters reported.
