TEHRAN — Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy Command announced on Saturday the immediate closure of the Strait of Hormuz, effective from Saturday evening, declaring the waterway sealed until Washington unconditionally lifts its naval blockade of Iranian ports. The announcement, broadcast by Iran’s state-run IRIB broadcaster, marks one of the most consequential escalations in the Persian Gulf in recent memory, with direct implications for approximately 20% of the world’s oil, petroleum products, and liquefied natural gas supplies.
“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 command further issued an unambiguous warning that any vessel attempting to approach the now-closed waterway would be treated as acting in “cooperation with the enemy” — a designation that carries the explicit threat of military strikes.
The crisis traces its immediate origins to 13 April 2026, when the United States Navy initiated a comprehensive blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports situated on both sides of the Strait of Hormuz. Washington has sought to frame the measure in narrow terms, insisting that non-Iranian vessels retain the right of transit through the Strait provided they refrain from paying any toll to Tehran. Iranian authorities, for their part, have not formally announced the imposition of such a toll, though discussions to that effect have been reported at senior governmental levels.
The IRGC’s invocation of a “ceasefire regime violation” as the legal and political justification for the closure signals Tehran’s position that the US naval blockade constitutes an act of aggression incompatible with any existing diplomatic framework. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint through which roughly one-fifth of global energy supplies transit daily — carries profound consequences for international shipping lanes, global oil markets, and the energy security of nations across Asia, Europe, and beyond, many of which are entirely uninvolved in the bilateral US-Iran dispute.
Iranian Vice President statements earlier on Saturday had already foreshadowed the move, with officials indicating that control over the Hormuz passage would be “secured one way or another,” underscoring the resolve of Tehran to leverage its strategic geographic position in the face of what it characterises as an illegal economic siege. The situation continues to evolve rapidly, with global energy markets and regional navies on high alert.
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