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Iran's sudden decision to return the Strait of Hormuz to "strict control" is likely to infuriate Donald Trump.
09:58, Sat, Apr 18, 2026 Updated: 10:26, Sat, Apr 18, 2026
Ship traffic resumes at Strait of Hormuz following US-Iran ceasefire (Image: Getty)
Iran swiftly reversed course on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, reimposing restrictions on the critical waterway after the US said the move would not end its blockade.
The country's joint military command said on Saturday that "control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state ... under strict management and control of the armed forces." It warned that it would continue to block transit through the strait as long as the US blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect. The military statement accuses the US of "piracy", saying that its "so-called blockade" amounts to maritime robbery.
?????? BREAKING
Iran's Central Military HQ:
Iran agreed to allow a limited number of ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz according to agreements.#But U.S. did not fulfill their obligations.
?????? So, the Strait of Hormuz is now #closed again and passage requires IRAN approval.
The Iranian military’s operational command, Khatam Al-Anbiya, added: “Until the US restores the complete freedom of navigation for vessels from an Iranian origin to a destination, and from a destination back to Iran, the situation in the strait of Hormuz will remain strictly controlled and in its previous state.”
The announcement came the morning after US President Donald Trump said that even after Iran announced the strait's reopening on Friday, the American blockade "will remain in full force" until Tehran reaches a deal with the US, including on its nuclear programme.
Movement through the key waterway briefly increased this morning, with several shipping vessels observed, though it remains unclear how much marine activity actually made it through.
Yesterday Trump claimed that Iran 'has agreed to never close the Strait of Hormuz again' (Image: Getty)
Yesterday President Trump was in a celebratory mood, following Iran’s foreign minister announcing that the Strait of Hormuz had reopened.
The 79-year-old US leader shared a series of upbeat messages on his social media platform, Truth Social. In his tenth post on the social mediam platform in an hour, Mr Trump claimed that Iran "has agreed to never close the Strait of Hormuz again".
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"It will no longer be used as a weapon against the world," he said. "A GREAT AND BRILLIANT DAY FOR THE WORLD," Mr Trump wrote in a post just moments before.
Trump who spend the night in Washington DC, following a keynote address at a Turning Point event in Arizona, has yet to respond to Iran announcing the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
English (US) · 