{"id":48259,"date":"2026-04-18T15:04:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T15:04:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=48259"},"modified":"2026-04-18T15:04:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T15:04:33","slug":"iran-reimposes-control-over-strait-of-hormuz-as-ships-report-gunfire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=48259","title":{"rendered":"Iran reimposes control over Strait of Hormuz as ships report gunfire"},"content":{"rendered":"
Iran said it was tightening control over the \u200bStrait of Hormuz on Saturday, warning mariners that the energy lifeline was again closed, as shipping sources said at least two vessels reported coming under fire while trying to transit the waterway.<\/p>\n

Tehran said it \u200cwas responding to a continued US blockade of Iranian ports, calling it a violation of the ceasefire, while Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said Iran’s navy was ready to inflict “new bitter defeats” on its enemies.<\/p>\n

In the same way that the drones of Iran’s Army strike the US and the Zionist murderers like lightning, its valiant navy is also ready to inflict new bitter defeats on its enemies.
\n\u2014 Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei (@MKhamenei_ir) April 18, 2026<\/p>\n

Tehran\u2019s renewed tough messaging injected 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.<\/p>\n

Read: Strait of Hormuz closed again over US blockade, says Iranian military command<\/p>\n

Some merchant vessels received radio messages from Iran\u2019s navy saying no ships were allowed through the waterway, maritime security and shipping sources said, reversing signs earlier in the day that traffic \u200bmight resume.<\/p>\n

At least two vessels reported being hit by gunfire as they attempted to cross the strait, the sources said.<\/p>\n

Earlier, maritime trackers had shown a convoy of eight tankers transiting the narrow passage in the first major movement \u200bof ships since the US-Israeli war on Iran began seven weeks ago.<\/p>\n

US-Iran ceasefire due to end on Wednesday <\/p>\n

Hours earlier, US President Donald Trump had cited “some pretty good news” about Iran, declining to \u2060elaborate. But he also said fighting might resume without a peace deal by Wednesday, when the two-week ceasefire expires.<\/p>\n

Iran had announced its temporary reopening of the Strait of Hormuz following a separate US-brokered 10-day ceasefire agreement on Thursday between Israel and Lebanon. Israel \u200binvaded parts of southern Lebanon after Hezbollah\u00a0joined the fighting in early March.<\/p>\n

But on Saturday, Iran’s armed forces command said transit through the strait had reverted to a state of strict Iranian military control, citing what it described \u200bas repeated US violations and acts of \u201cpiracy\u201d under the guise of a blockade.<\/p>\n

The spokesperson said Iran had earlier agreed, \u201cin good faith\u201d, to the managed passage of a limited number of oil tankers and commercial vessels following negotiations, but said continued US actions had forced Tehran to restore tighter controls on shipping through the strategic chokepoint.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Unclear if any direct talks this weekend<\/p>\n

The war with Iran, which began on February 28 with a US-Israeli \u200battack on the Islamic Republic, has killed thousands, spread to Israeli attacks in Lebanon and sent oil prices surging because of the de facto closure of the strait.<\/p>\n

Despite the initial movement of ships, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said no \u200bdate had been set for the next round of negotiations, adding that a framework of understanding must be agreed first.<\/p>\n

Asked about reports that Tehran had closed the Strait, he said that the Americans had violated the terms of the ceasefire, and so “there will be repercussions for them”.<\/p>\n

Pressure for \u200ca way out \u2060of the war has mounted as Trump\u2019s fellow Republicans defend narrow majorities in Congress in the November midterm elections, with US gasoline prices high, inflation rising and his own approval ratings down.<\/p>\n

“It seems to be going very well in the Middle East with Iran,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One while returning to Washington from Phoenix, Arizona, on Friday. “We’re negotiating over the weekend. I expect things to go well. Many of these things have been negotiated and agreed to.<\/p>\n

“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.”<\/p>\n

But in sharp contrast, Trump also said he might end the ceasefire with Iran unless a long-term deal to end the war was agreed before it \u200bexpires on Wednesday, adding that a US blockade of Iranian ports \u200bwould continue.<\/p>\n

Also Read: CDF Munir concludes Iran visit, urges de-escalation and dialogue for peace in Mideast<\/p>\n

Trump has told Reuters there would probably be \u2060more direct talks between Iran and the US this weekend. Some diplomats said that was unlikely given the logistics of gathering in Islamabad, where the talks are expected to take place.<\/p>\n

There were no signs of preparations early on Saturday for talks in the federal capital, where the highest-level US-Iran negotiations since the 1979 Islamic Revolution ended without agreement last weekend.<\/p>\n

The key mediator, Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, has concluded three days of talks in Tehran. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was also returning to Islamabad after talks \u200bthis week in Qatar, Saudi Arabia \u2060and Turkiye.<\/p>\n

A Pakistani source aware of mediation efforts said a meeting between Iran and the US could produce an initial memorandum of understanding, followed by a comprehensive peace agreement within 60 days.<\/p>\n

No clarity on Iran’s nuclear programme<\/p>\n

Differences remained over Tehran’s nuclear programme, which has been a sticking point in peace talks, with Iran defending its right to what it says is a civilian nuclear energy programme.<\/p>\n

Trump told Reuters the US would remove Iran’s stockpiles of enriched uranium. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson told state TV the material would not be transferred \u2060anywhere.<\/p>\n

Separately, a senior \u200bIranian official said Tehran hoped a preliminary agreement could be reached in the coming days.<\/p>\n

Oil prices fell about 10% and global stocks jumped on Friday on \u200bthe prospect of marine traffic resuming through the strait. Despite that, hundreds of vessels and about 20,000 seafarers remain stranded in the Gulf awaiting passage through the waterway, shipping sources said.<\/p>\n

At last weekend’s talks, the US proposed a 20-year suspension of all Iranian nuclear activity, while Iran suggested a halt of \u200bthree to five years, according to people familiar with the proposals.<\/p>\n

Two Iranian sources have said there were signs of a compromise that could remove part of the stockpile.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Iran said it was tightening control over the \u200bStrait of Hormuz on Saturday, warning mariners that the energy lifeline was again closed, as shipping sources said at least two vessels reported coming under fire while trying to transit the waterway. Tehran said it \u200cwas responding to a continued US blockade of Iranian ports, calling it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48259"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48259\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}