With the Strait of Hormuz back in Iran’s control, the standoff that began with the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports intensified Saturday as Iran reversed a prior reopening and said it would not allow any vessel to transit. The Associated Press reported that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard announced the waterway was fully closed and warned mariners that approaching the strait would be treated as cooperation with the enemy.
Iran said the closure would last until the blockade is lifted, and it framed the renewed restrictions as retaliation tied to the United States’ continued pressure on Iranian ports. The Revolutionary Guard’s statement said no vessel should move from anchorage in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, and that ships attempting to pass would be targeted, according to the AP report.
The escalation also came with new incidents in the shipping corridor. The AP reported that Revolutionary Guard gunboats opened fire on a tanker and that a projectile hit a container vessel, damaging some containers, according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center.
Iran’s military and national leadership also linked the maritime showdown to the broader diplomatic and ceasefire countdown in the region. The AP said a fragile ceasefire is due to run out by Wednesday, and that Iran received new proposals from the United States while Pakistani mediators worked toward another round of direct negotiations.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said the blockade violated the ceasefire and that Iran would prevent “any conditional and limited reopening” of the strait. It also described how traffic would remain under Iranian oversight, including Iran-designated routes, payment of fees, and issuance of transit certificates—while the Revolutionary Guard later indicated that no vessel should attempt a transit at all.
The AP reported that the renewed dispute took shape amid an earlier sign of movement: on Friday, Iran announced the reopening of the strait to commercial vessels after a 10-day truce was announced between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. The reopening drove oil prices down, but the episode was short-lived as Iran said Saturday it was closing the strait again in response to the blockade.
U.S. officials continued to press for terms tied to Iran’s nuclear program. The AP reported that Trump said the blockade of Iran’s ports “will remain in full force” until Tehran reaches a deal with the United States, and that he said Iran “got a little cute,” adding that “very good” conversations were ongoing. The Associated Press also reported that Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh warned that the U.S. was risking “the whole ceasefire package” and criticized what he described as U.S. “miscalculations.”
Khatibzadeh also addressed Pakistan’s mediation. The AP said Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told Iranian media that his country was working to “bridge” differences between the U.S. and Iran and that Pakistan expected to host a second round of negotiations early next week. Iran’s council said new U.S. proposals were brought during a visit to Iran by Pakistan’s army chief and were being reviewed, while Khatibzadeh said Iran would not be ready for face-to-face talks because the U.S. had not abandoned its “maximalist position.”
On the nuclear question, the AP reported that Khatibzadeh said Iran would not hand over its stock of 970 pounds (440 kilograms) of enriched uranium to the United States and called the idea “a nonstarter.” He did not address other proposals for the enriched uranium and said Iran was ready to address “any concerns.”
The maritime and regional developments unfolded alongside other escalating violence in Lebanon. The AP reported that French President Emmanuel Macron said a French soldier was killed and three others wounded Saturday during an attack on U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, adding that he believed Hezbollah was responsible. The report said the U.N. force also blamed Hezbollah, while Hezbollah denied involvement.
As the fighting continued, displacement in Beirut shifted alongside the ceasefire uncertainty. The AP said displaced families began moving toward southern Lebanon and the capital’s southern suburbs, even as officials warned people not to return home until it was clear whether the ceasefire would hold. The Associated Press said Iran’s war with the United States and Israel had killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,290 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel, and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states, while 13 U.S. service members had been killed.