US President Donald Trump on Saturday took a dig at Iran after the country said that the Strait of Hormuz was being closed again, just one day after its opening was announced.
Even as he lashed out at Iran for the move, Trump maintained that talks were still ongoing, and further added that Tehran was getting a “little cute”. Follow live updates on Iran-US war here.
“We’re talking to them. They wanted to close up the strait again — you know, as they’ve been doing for years — and they can’t blackmail us,” Trump said at a White House event, according to an AFP report. Trump said there would be “some information” about Iran later in the day, adding: “We’re taking a tough stand.”
Hormuz closure, Iran’s warning to vessels
Iran announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, citing the US’s naval blockade of Iranian ports. Later, the IRGC Navy in a statement reportedly said that the closure would continue until the US blockade is lifted.
The IRGC has also warned vessels against approaching the chokepoint, directing them to remain at the anchorage in the Persian Gulf. “Any attempt to approach the Strait of Hormuz will be considered cooperation with the enemy, and the offending vessel will be targeted,” AFP quoted a statement published on the Guards’ official Sepah News website.
The Strait of Hormuz opening was announced by Iran after a ceasefire was agreed in Israel’s war with Iran’s ally Hezbollah in Lebanon.
While the development briefly eased markets and led to a drop in oil prices globally, the US’s insistence on keeping the blockade up until Tehran agrees to a deal, and the subsequent closure of the chokepoint yet again left markets and crude prices in disarray.
There are just four days remaining before the end of the two-week ceasefire that was agreed to between the US and Iran, and the continued Hormuz tensions have further cast uncertainty on the future of the conflict.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the two sticking points in the peace talks, the other one being Iran’s stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium.