Will close strait of Hormuz if US blockade continues,  Iran warns

way2barak, April 18: Iran temporarily reopened the strait of Hormuz on Friday after a truce agreement between Israel and Lebanon, raising hopes for a broader peace, but Tehran warned that it would close the waterway again if the US naval blockade of Iranian ports continued.

Foreign minister Abbas Araqchi announced the global energy chokepoint was open for all commercial vessels for the remainder of the 10-day, US-brokered truce agreed on Thursday and Donald Trump said Iran’s move marked “a great and brilliant day for the world”.

But subsequent statements and clarifications from both sides left uncertainty over how quickly shipping might return to normal, and some vessels could be observed making unsuccessful attempts cross the strait on Friday before turning back.

Trump said a US blockade of ships sailing to Iranian ports would remain until “our transaction with Iran is 100% complete”.

Iran parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf retorted by saying the Hormuz strait “will not remain open” if the US blockade continued and that Trump had made multiple false claims on Friday.

Trump later said he might end the ceasefire with Iran and “start dropping bombs again” if a long-term deal to end the war was not agreed by Wednesday, when their truce expires.