Iran has reimposed restrictions on the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, sharply reversing its brief reopening and escalating tensions with the United States over maritime access, energy flows, and the broader regional conflict.
The move comes at a critical moment for global energy markets, with liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments and oil tankers attempting to transit the narrow waterway that handles a significant share of the world’s energy trade.
Iran swiftly reversed course on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, reimposing restrictions on the critical waterway on Saturday after the US said it would not end its blockade of Iran-linked shipping.
Iran’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 announcement came the morning after US President 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 program.’
The conflict over the chokepoint threatened to deepen the energy crisis roiling the global economy after oil prices began to fall again on Friday on hopes that the US and Iran were drawing closer to an agreement.
Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strait, and further limits would squeeze already constrained supply, driving prices higher once again.
Control over the strait has proven to be one of Iran’s main points of leverage and prompted the United States to deploy forces and initiate a blockade on Iranian ports as part of an effort to force Iran to accept a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire to end almost seven weeks of war that has raged between Israel, the US and Iran.
Iran said it fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial vessels after a 10-day truce was announced between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. But after Trump said the blockade would continue, top Iranian officials said his announcement violated last week’s ceasefire agreement between Iran and the US and warned the strait would not stay open if the U.S. blockade remained in effect.
A data firm, Kpler, said movement through the strait remained confined to corridors requiring Iran’s approval.
US Central Command said on X that American forces have sent 21 ships back to Iran since the blockade began on Monday.
Iran’s reimposition of Strait controls is shaking global energy markets — 5 questions to test how closely you’ve been following.
What fraction of the world’s oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz?
Which country brokered the ceasefire that prompted Iran to initially reopen the Strait of Hormuz?
How many LNG tankers from Qatar’s Ras Laffan were approaching the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, per ship-tracking data?
What percentage of Qatar’s LNG export capacity was knocked out by Iranian attacks?
What percentage of Hezbollah’s missile and rocket stockpiles did PM Netanyahu claim Israel had destroyed?
How closely are you tracking the Hormuz crisis?
Five vessels loaded with liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Ras Laffan, Qatar, are approaching the Strait of Hormuz, ship-tracking data showed on Saturday.
If the vessels successfully crossed the strait, it would be the first transit of LNG cargoes through the waterway since the US-Israel war with Iran began on February 28.
On Friday, Iran reopened the strait, which before the war carried a fifth of the world’s LNG trade, following a separate US-brokered ceasefire agreement on Thursday between Israel and Lebanon. A convoy of oil tankers was crossing the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.
Data from analytics firm Kpler showed the vessels, Al Ghashamiya, Lebrethah, Fuwairit, Rasheeda and Disha, have moved eastward towards the Strait of Hormuz. The first four tankers are controlled by QatarEnergy, while Disha is chartered by India’s Petronet LNG.
QatarEnergy did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
“Currently we see five laden vessels approaching the Strait of Hormuz. All five vessels loaded from Qatar’s Ras Laffan plant. Of the five, two are destined for Pakistan, two likely destined for India and one with no clear destination,” said Laura Page, manager of LNG Insight at Kpler.
“In addition, two ballast Adnoc vessels enter the Gulf of Oman and moor outside Fujairah. The vessel movements align with flaring data which suggests multiple trains at Ras Laffan’s north site have restarted as well as UAE’s Das Island plant,” she added.
Qatar is the world’s second-largest exporter of LNG, with shipments mostly going to buyers in Asia.
Iranian attacks, however, knocked out 17% of Qatar’s LNG export capacity, with repairs expected to sideline 12.8 million metric tons per year of the fuel for three to five years.
The ceasefire in Lebanon could clear one major obstacle to an agreement. But it was unclear to what extent Hezbollah would abide by a deal it did not play a role in negotiating and which will leave Israeli troops occupying a stretch of southern Lebanon.
Trump said in another post that Israel is “prohibited” by the U.S. from further strikes on Lebanon and that “enough is enough” in the Israel-Hezbollah war.
The State Department said the prohibition applies only to offensive attacks and not to actions taken in self-defence.
Shortly before Trump’s post, Israeli Prime Minister said Israel agreed to the ceasefire in Lebanon “at the request of my friend President Trump,” but that the campaign against Hezbollah is not complete.
He claimed Israel had destroyed about 90% of Hezbollah’s missile and rocket stockpiles and added that Israeli forces “have not finished yet” with the dismantling of the group.
In Beirut, displaced families began moving toward southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs despite warnings by officials not to return to their homes until it became clear whether the ceasefire would hold.
The Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon reported sporadic artillery shelling in some parts of southern Lebanon in the hours after the ceasefire took effect.
An end to Israel’s war with Hezbollah was a key demand of Iranian negotiators, who previously accused Israel of breaking last week’s ceasefire with strikes on Lebanon. Israel had said that deal did not cover Lebanon.
The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,290 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen US service members have also been killed.
