Iran sends warning it is closing the Strait of Hormuz, just days after it signed a ceasefire deal with the US, Iran’s central military command announced Saturday ‘that the Strait of Hormuz will be closed to vessel traffic’.
The Islamic Republic warned all vessels not to approach the shipping lane, which plays a vital role in global trade, and blamed continued Israeli strikes in Southern Lebanon for the decision.
It warned all ships that their security would be at risk if they attempted to traverse the strait, through which some 20 per cent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas travels each year.
It comes after US President Donald Trump said ships had begun transiting the strait after the interim agreement with Iran was signed earlier this week.
A statement on Iranian state television added that ‘if the aggression continues, subsequent steps have been planned’.
Minutes later, the state broadcaster said the country’s negotiating team was still heading to Switzerland, a trip that was originally planned for Friday but was cancelled.
The interim deal between the US and Iran, known as the ‘Memorandum of Understanding’, explicitly pledged an ‘immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon’.
