Tehran, 18 April 2026 — Iran has formally closed the Strait of Hormuz effective Saturday evening, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy Command announced, declaring the closure will remain in force until Washington unconditionally lifts its naval blockade of Iranian ports. The announcement, broadcast by Iran’s state-run IRIB network, marks one of the most consequential escalations in the Persian Gulf in recent memory, with immediate implications for global energy markets and international shipping lanes.
“As a result of the violation of the ceasefire regime, the Strait of Hormuz will be closed from the evening of today [Saturday], until the US lifts the naval blockade,” the IRGC Navy stated in its official communiqué. The Corps further issued an unambiguous warning that any vessel attempting to approach the waterway would be subject to military strikes, characterising such transit as “cooperation with the enemy” — a direct reference to the United States.
The crisis was precipitated on 13 April, when the US Navy commenced a comprehensive blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports situated on both sides of the Strait of Hormuz. The strategic waterway is of extraordinary global significance, serving as the transit corridor for approximately 20 per cent of the world’s oil, petroleum products, and liquefied natural gas supplies. Any sustained closure threatens to send shockwaves through international commodity markets and disrupt energy supply chains across Asia, Europe, and beyond.
Washington has maintained that non-Iranian vessels retain the right to transit the Strait of Hormuz freely, provided they refrain from paying any toll to Tehran. Iranian authorities have not formally announced the imposition of such a toll, though discussions regarding the measure have been reported at senior governmental levels. The IRGC’s invocation of a “ceasefire violation” as the legal and political basis for the closure signals that Tehran views the US naval blockade as a direct act of aggression incompatible with any prior diplomatic understanding.
Iran’s Vice President also stated separately on Saturday that control of the Strait of Hormuz would be secured “one way or another,” underscoring the resolve of Iranian leadership to contest what it characterises as an unlawful maritime siege. The standoff places the international community — and particularly Global South nations heavily dependent on Gulf energy exports — in an acutely precarious position, as two nuclear-era powers engage in an escalating confrontation over one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints.
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