Iran announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday (Jul 12) “until further notice” after firing on a vessel it said was taking an unauthorised route, prompting US retaliatory strikes that further undermine an already shaky ceasefire.
The closure of the strategic waterway marks the latest escalation in a dispute that has become one of the main roadblocks to a final US-Iran agreement.Tehran insists it will regulate shipping through Hormuz, while Washington demands unrestricted navigation through a route that carries roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas trade.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Sunday they struck and stopped a vessel ignoring repeated instructions to use an approved shipping corridor, according to a statement carried by state news agency IRNA.
“Following this incident … the Strait of Hormuz will be closed until further notice and until the end of American interventions in this region and no vessels will be allowed to pass through,” the Guards said.
Although Iran called the strike on the ship “warning shots”, the US military said Tehran “blatantly attacked” a Cyprus-flagged container ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
A crew member was missing and the vessel had been disabled by fire and damage to its engine room, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
“In response, the United States is imposing a heavy cost by continuing to degrade Iran’s ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the strait,” it said on X.The strikes, which began at 7.15pm Saturday in Washington, were the third round carried out this week and were taking place at the direction of President Donald Trump, CENTCOM said.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said simply: “Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay.
