US-Iran ceasefire: Iran shuts Strait of Hormuz after Israel strikes 100 missiles in Lebanon
US-Iran ceasefire: Less than 24 hours after the US announced ceasefire with Iran, the Islamic Republic closed the key oil chokepoint, the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation to Strikes on Lebanon by Israel.
Iran warned that oil tanker movement through the Strait of Hormuz would completely stop, blaming Israel for breaking the ceasefire by carrying out around 100 airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, which killed over 250 people. The White House asked Iran to reopen the strait immediately. Before shutting it, Iran had briefly allowed two ships to pass but then changed its decision.
Israel said Lebanon was not included in the ceasefire deal, but Iran disagreed. Iran demanded a full stop to all fighting, including Israeli attacks on Hezbollah and other Iran-backed groups. A senior Iranian official said the Strait of Hormuz should be closed due to what he called Israel’s aggressive actions in Lebanon, adding that the ceasefire should apply to everyone. Earlier, Donald Trump had said Iran must reopen the strait as part of a two-week ceasefire, but Iran’s security council claimed the US had agreed, in principle, to Iran continuing control over the waterway.
"In response to the savage Zionist aggression against Lebanon, the passage of ships in the Strait of Hormuz must be halted right now... The Lebanese sacrificed their lives for us and we must not leave them alone for a moment. Ceasefire either on all fronts or on no fronts," Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesperson for the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Iranian Parliament, wrote on X.
Another Iranian official suggested Iran might ease the blockade by Thursday or Friday before peace talks in Islamabad on April 11, though ships would still need Iran’s approval to pass.
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow but crucial route between Iran and Oman/UAE that connects the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea, and about 20% of the world’s oil and gas passes through it every day.
- With inputs from agencies
