After the announcement by Tehran of the reopening of this strait, Donald Trump continued on Friday to put pressure on Iranian ports.
Published on 04/18/2026 at 13:04
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A ship in the Strait of Hormuz, between Iran and Oman, on March 1, 2026. (SAHAR AL ATTAR / AFP)
Once open, now closed. Iran announced on Saturday, April 18, that it will resume “strict control” of the Strait of Hormuz in response to the continued American blockade of Iranian ports, reversing its decision from the day before to reopen this strategic maritime route. Tehran had “in good faith agreed to allow the passage of a limited number of tankers and commercial ships” but the Americans, violating their commitment, “continue to engage in acts of piracy under the guise of the so-called blockade,” denounced the command of the Iranian armed forces.
This announcement comes amid diplomatic efforts to end the war in the Middle East, as the two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States that took effect on April 8 is nearing expiration. Early Saturday morning, the MarineTraffic website showed a timid resumption of commercial traffic in the strait: more than a dozen ships were circulating, including several tankers, but at least two seemed to be turning back. Before the war, around 120 boats crossed this strait daily, according to the specialized journal Lloyd’s List.
On Friday, after Tehran’s announcement of the reopening of the strait, Donald Trump stated that the American blockade of Iranian ports would remain “fully in force” until the end of negotiations, and that it would “continue” if no peace agreement was reached at the end of the negotiations. “Since the beginning of the blockade, 21 ships have complied with the directives of the American forces ordering them to turn around and return to Iran,” the US Central Command wrote on Saturday.
The American president also told AFP that a peace agreement was “very close” and claimed that Iran had agreed to hand over its enriched uranium, a point denied by Tehran.
