Iran announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz
Iran's military command announced on Saturday that it was closing the Strait of Hormuz to traffic due to ongoing hostilities in Lebanon, Bloomberg reported, citing the semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim.
The Iranian military described the closure of the strait as the first step in response to Israel’s ongoing strikes on southern Lebanon. At the same time, Iranian state television reported that a delegation had already left for Switzerland to hold talks with the U.S. on a permanent peace agreement.
The talks were supposed to take place on Friday, but Tehran postponed sending its delegation due to new clashes between Israel and the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran insisted that a ceasefire in Lebanon be part of the interim peace agreement with the U.S. concluded this week.
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, who had planned to arrive in Switzerland on Friday, remains in Washington for now, according to Bloomberg. On Saturday, he told Fox News that he expects to fly out for the talks “in the next couple of days.”
Context
Earlier this week, Iran notified shipowners that no vessel would be allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without its permission.
In recent weeks, shipping through the strait—which is considered one of the most important routes for global energy trade—has been using two routes: one along the Iranian coast and another further south, off the coast of Oman. The stretch between these corridors is believed to have been mined after the war in Iran began, according to Bloomberg.
Nevertheless, even before the interim agreement between the U.S. and Iran was reached, ships carrying millions of barrels of oil per day were quietly passing through the so-called Omani route, sailing at night with their satellite tracking signals turned off. In recent days, ships have been passing through the Strait of Hormuz via both routes, including earlier on Saturday, the agency reports.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
