On Saturday, April 18, 2026, Iran claims to have once again closed the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran specifically mentions the blockade imposed by the United States.
Open, closed, then open again and closed. In a similar fashion to the iconic “day-night” sequence in “The Visitors,” the Strait of Hormuz is also going back and forth. On Saturday, April 18, 2026, Iran announced in the midst of the Middle East war that they had once again closed this passage, citing the American blockade.
“The strict control”
The Iranian Armed Forces Command Khatam Al-Anbiya issued a statement on Saturday. The document, broadcasted on state television, first mentioned that Iran had “in good faith agreed to allow the passage of a limited number of tankers and commercial ships.”
However, it denounces the actions of Americans, violating their commitment and continuing to engage in acts of piracy under the guise of the so-called blockade. “For this reason, control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state, and this strategic passage is now under the strict control of Iran.”
It had been reopened on Friday
Just a few hours earlier, on Friday, April 17, 2026, Iran had temporarily reopened the Strait of Hormuz for commercial traffic, following the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, which raised hopes for peace negotiations between Tehran and Washington. American President Donald Trump declared at a rally in Arizona that the announcement of the strait’s reopening marked “a great and incredible day for the world.”
A first convoy of ships carrying petrochemical products set sail on Saturday in the Gulf and headed towards the strait. However, there is uncertainty about how long it will take for navigation to return to normal. Donald Trump stated that the American blockade imposed on ships heading to Iranian ports, announced after the failed negotiations with Iran last weekend, would remain in effect until “our transaction with Iran is fully concluded.”
Another warning
The President of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who participated in the talks in Pakistan, had warned that the Strait of Hormuz “would not remain open” if the American blockade continued. Iran stated that all ships must coordinate with the Revolutionary Guards, which was not the case before the war.
The Ministry of Defense also stated in a press release that military vessels and boats associated with “hostile forces” — the United States and Israel — still did not have the right of passage.
Donald Trump suggested that peace talks could take place this weekend. However, some diplomats believed that this was unlikely due to logistical constraints associated with organizing a meeting in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, where the discussions were supposed to take place.
