Iran and its commitment not to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as long as a US naval blockade remained in place were affirmed Thursday, despite a cease-fire extension, as the Gulf republic announced the seizure of two ships attempting to cross the crucial waterway.
Late Wednesday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that it had also “directed 31 vessels to turn around or return to port” as part of its own “blockade against Iran.”
As the clock raced toward a resumption of the region’s war, US President Donald Trump indicated Tuesday that he would keep the truce in place to give Pakistani-brokered peace talks more time to progress.
Iran hailed Pakistan’s efforts but offered no more comment on Trump’s remarks.
“A complete ceasefire only has meaning if it is not violated through a naval blockade,” said Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led Tehran’s delegation in the first round of talks in Islamabad.
“The blatant violation of the ceasefire makes reopening the Strait of Hormuz impossible.”
Oil prices rose four percent before falling Thursday as Iran pledged not to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as long as the US blockade remained in place.
At roughly 0025 GMT, the benchmark US oil contract West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 4.06% to $96.73 per barrel. Brent North Sea crude, the international oil benchmark, climbed 3.62% to $105.63. Both relaxed in the next minutes.
Trump had stated that he intended to allow Iran’s “fractured” leadership time to develop a solution, which many observers interpreted as a face-saving move to avert a new war.
Trump told the New York Post that discussions in Pakistan might begin within two to three days, although Iran has not confirmed its participation and Vice President JD Vance postponed his trip to Islamabad on Tuesday.
Trump also claimed that Iran had delayed suspected intentions to execute eight women caught in connection with major anti-government protests in the weeks leading up to the incident.
However, Iran’s judiciary denounced his claims as “false news,” claiming that the ladies had never faced the death penalty.
Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards said they forced two ships onto the Iranian shore from the Strait of Hormuz, the tiny passageway for roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil.
“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval force this morning identified and stopped in the Strait of Hormuz two violating ships,” the Guards said in a statement.
They identified the ships as the Panama-flagged container ship MSC Francesca and the Liberian-flagged Epaminondas.
Panama’s foreign ministry acknowledged the detention of the MSC Francesca, describing it as a “serious attack on maritime security” and an “unnecessary escalation.”
According to maritime security monitors headquartered in the United Kingdom, three commercial vessels reported incidents involving gunboats in the strait.
Among them, a container ship reported being fired on by a Revolutionary Guards boat 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman, causing bridge damage but no casualties, according to UKMTO.
Under Trump’s orders, the US Navy is aiming to stop vessels heading to or from Iranian ports in order to increase pressure on the Iranian economy even in the absence of all-out conflict.
In the midst of the embargo, the Pentagon revealed Wednesday that Navy Secretary John Phelan will leave “immediately.”
It provided no explanation for his abrupt resignation, the most recent expulsion of a top commander under Trump’s outspoken Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth.
In reprisal for the incident, Iran has stated that vessels must request permission to leave or enter the Gulf through the strait. It had previously promised unrestricted passage during the cease-fire but returned to disobedience once Trump declared the embargo.
The US Defense Department announced Tuesday that its soldiers had stopped and boarded a “state-sanctioned” vessel. The AFP has recognized the ship as being linked to Iranian activity. Both sides accuse each other of violating the truce.
