Iran tightens grip on Hormuz again as US blockade dispute deepens
Iran reverses course and ‘closes Strait of Hormuz again’ after Trump refuses to end blockade of Iranian shipping
Today (April 18, 2026), Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Iran has reversed course and decided to close the Strait of Hormuz again after the United States continued its blockade of Iranian ports.
The Iranian military announced the decision in a statement released through Iranian media.
Previously, the Strait of Hormuz, which carries about one-fifth of the world’s crude oil and petroleum products, had only just been reopened yesterday (April 17, 2026) after being almost entirely shut amid the Iran war. That situation had already triggered one of the most severe energy crises in modern history.
At around 3.30pm Thailand time on April 18, Iranian state media reported that the Iranian military was moving to close the Strait of Hormuz again.
Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with the IRGC, the Iranian Students’ News Agency, and state broadcaster IRIB cited an IRGC statement saying the strait would return to its “previous condition”, with armed forces controlling the area.
Earlier reports said some cargo vessels had started moving through the waterway after the reopening announcement, although it remained unclear how much maritime traffic had actually resumed along the vital shipping route.
In its statement, the IRGC accused the United States of “plunder”, saying the naval blockade amounted to piracy at sea. Iran had previously warned it would shut the strait if the US continued blockading Iranian ports.
The Iranian military said restrictions on passage through the Strait of Hormuz would be reimposed, accusing the United States of “repeatedly violating trust” in the ceasefire agreement between the two sides.
An Iranian military spokesman said Tehran had already allowed “a limited number of tankers and commercial ships” to pass through the strait, but added: “Unfortunately, the Americans, who repeatedly violate trust as part of their history, continue acts of piracy and maritime robbery under the pretext of a blockade.”
He added that control of the strait had once again been placed under the military’s “strict management and supervision” until the United States ends its naval blockade.
