Tehran said it was responding to a continued US blockade of Iranian ports, calling it a violation of their ceasefire, while Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said Iran’s navy was ready to inflict “new bitter defeats” on its enemies.
US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, convened a White House Situation Room meeting to discuss the renewed crisis around the Strait of Hormuz and negotiations with Iran, according to two US officials.
Also, Iran said it is reviewing new US proposals after talks with Chief of Defence Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, who has been acting as an intermediary between the two countries.
Iran’s Press TV issued a statement on X from the Secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council that Iran was reviewing proposals from the US that were delivered by Field Marshal Asim Munir during his visit to Tehran.
It said Iran had not yet given a response to them.
A message purportedly from new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned that Iran’s navy “stands ready to make the enemies taste the bitterness of new defeats”.
Khamenei, who hasn’t been seen in public or released any video messages since his appointment as Iran’s Supreme Leader six weeks ago, didn’t reference any of the recent confusion over the status of the Strait of Hormuz in the written message.
Instead, it praised Iran’s army for “courageously defending the territory, waters and the flag that belongs to it.”
Strait of Hormuz
“Approaching the Strait of Hormuz will be considered cooperation with the enemy, and any offending vessel will be targeted,” the IRGC statement read.
After declaring the waterway open on Friday, Iran reimposed restrictions on the passage of ships on Saturday, citing “repeated breaches of trust” by the US in the two sides’ ceasefire.
“In violation of the ceasefire agreement, the American enemy did not lift the naval blockade on Iranian vessels and ports. Therefore, starting this evening, the Strait of Hormuz will be closed until this blockade is lifted,” the IRGC said.
The military group warned that vessels should not move from their anchor points in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.
The IRGC also urged ships and their owner to only follow updates from Iran and said that statements from the US president “hold no credibility.”
In a statement to state media, Iranian parliament speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf called the US blockade of the strait an “ill-considered and ignorant decision.”
“It is impossible for others to pass through the Strait of Hormuz while we cannot,” Ghalibaf said.
Separately, Trump said the US had “very good conversations going on” with Iran.
“We have very good conversations going on. It’s working out very well. They got a little cute, as they have been doing for 47 years. Nobody ever took them on. We took them on,” Trump said in the Oval Office.
“They have no navy, they have no air force, they have no leaders. They have no nothing. Actually it is regime change. You call that enforced regime change, but we’re talking to them,” he added.
“We’re talking to them we’re taking a tough stand,” Trump said, adding: “We’ll have some information by the end of the day,” regarding the ongoing talks with Iran.
After finishing his speech, Trump did not take any questions regarding the conflict with Iran, negotiations or the situation on the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran’s renewed tough messaging caused fresh uncertainty around the Iran conflict, raising the risk that oil and gas shipments through the strait could remain disrupted just as Washington weighs whether to extend the fragile ceasefire.
Maritime security and shipping sources said some merchant vessels had received radio messages from Iran’s navy saying no ships were allowed through the waterway, reversing Friday’s signs that traffic might resume.
Maritime trackers had earlier shown a convoy of eight tankers transiting the narrow passage in the first major movement of ships since the US-Israeli war on Iran began seven weeks ago.
Hours earlier, Trump had cited “some pretty good news” about Iran, declining to elaborate. But he also said fighting might resume without a peace deal by Wednesday, when the two-week ceasefire expires.
US Central Command said in a statement that American forces were enforcing a maritime blockade of Iran, but did not comment on the latest Iranian actions.
The war with Iran began on February 28 with a U.S.-Israeli attack on the Islamic Republic. It has killed thousands, spread to Israeli attacks in Lebanon and sent oil prices surging because of the de facto closure of the strait.
Despite the initial movement of ships, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said no date had been set for the next round of negotiations, adding that a framework of understanding must be agreed first.
Pressure for a way out of the war has mounted as Trump’s fellow Republicans defend narrow majorities in Congress in the November midterm elections with U.S. gasoline prices high, inflation rising and his own approval ratings down.
“The main thing is that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. You cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon, and that supersedes everything else,” Trump said on Friday.
Trump also said he might end the ceasefire with Iran unless a long-term deal to end the war was agreed before it expires on Wednesday, adding that a US blockade of Iranian ports would continue.
There were no signs of preparations early on Saturday for talks in the Pakistani capital, where the highest-level US-Iran negotiations since the 1979 Islamic Revolution ended without agreement last weekend.
A Pakistani source aware of mediation efforts had said a meeting between Iran and the US could produce an initial memorandum of understanding, followed by a comprehensive peace agreement within 60 days.
Separately, a senior Iranian official said Tehran hoped a preliminary agreement could be reached in the coming days.
Lebanon
A French soldier serving as part of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon was killed on Saturday, the French President Emmanuel Macron announced.
Macron named the soldier as Florian Montorio of the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment, who was serving in Lebanon as part of the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL). Three other soldiers were wounded, he said.
Macron said that “everything suggests that responsibility for this attack lies with Hezbollah,” and demanded that the Lebanese authorities immediately arrest the perpetrators.
Hezbollah denied the allegation. In a statement, it called for “caution in assigning blame and responsibility over the incident pending the Lebanese army’s investigation to fully determine the circumstances.”
UNIFIL said in a statement that its patrol was clearing explosive ordnance along a road in the village of Ghanduriyah in southern Lebanon when it “came under small-arms fire from non-state actors.” The force said two of the three wounded soldiers suffered serious injuries.
Nawaf Salam, the prime minister of Lebanon, condemned the attack and said he gave instructions for an immediate investigation.
“It goes without saying that this irresponsible behavior inflicts serious damage on Lebanon and its relations with its friendly and supportive countries around the world,” he added.
The attack comes amid a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon announced by US President Donald Trump on Thursday after Israel and Lebanon held their first direct talks in decades earlier this week in Washington, DC.
Israel’s military accused Hezbollah of violating the ceasefire earlier on Saturday, saying it had identified several “terrorists” approaching its soldiers and posing an immediate threat. The force said it “conducted precise strikes against the terrorists.”