What to know about US-Iran standoff over the Strait of Hormuz

The Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for astir a 5th of the world’s oil, has again go the chaotic centre of the United States-Israel warfare connected Iran, arsenic a standoff betwixt Washington and Tehran is complicating efforts to extremity the war.

Iran connected Saturday reversed its determination connected reopening the strait, and its subject opened occurrence astatine a vessel trying to walk done the waterway aft US President Donald Trump said Washington volition proceed its blockade connected Iranian ports.

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Trump has refused to extremity the blockade until a woody is finalised. On Saturday, helium said that determination person been “very good” discussions, but Washington won’t beryllium “blackmailed”.

After a short-lived emergence successful transit attempts connected Saturday, ships successful the Persian Gulf erstwhile again stayed put, aft reports of vessels coming nether occurrence mid-passage and being forced to withdraw.

Their pullback restored the strait to its pre-ceasefire status, raising the hazard of a worsening planetary vigor crunch and expanding the likelihood of renewed fighting.

Here is what you request to know:

What has Iran said?

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi connected Friday said the strait would beryllium unfastened for commercialized vessels during the truce, which ends connected April 22, successful “line with the ceasefire successful Lebanon”.

However, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced a wide reversal successful Iran’s position, saying the Strait of Hormuz would not instrumentality to its “previous state”, amid the blockade of Iranian ports.

The IRGC’s associated subject bid said the US has “continued acts of piracy and maritime theft nether the guise of a alleged blockade”.

(Al Jazeera)

“For this reason, power of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its erstwhile state, and this strategical waterway is present nether strict absorption and power by the equipped forces,” said the statement, cited by Iranian broadcaster IRIB.

“Until the United States restores afloat state of navigation for vessels travelling from Iran to their destinations and back, the presumption of the Strait of Hormuz volition stay tightly controlled and successful its erstwhile condition,” it added.

Iran’s Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who is Iran’s main negotiator successful talks with the US, said it was “impossible for others to pass” the strategical strait without Iran’s consent. He called Washington’s blockade “ignorant” and “foolish”, saying Tehran would not let others to transit the strait if its ain ships were blocked.

On Saturday, helium said that large differences remain, contempt immoderate advancement towards a deal.

What has the US said?

In a Truth Social station connected Sunday, the US president ‌accused Iran of violating the ceasefire agreement, but added that US negotiators volition beryllium heading to Islamabad, Pakistan connected Monday to onslaught a deal.

“We’re offering a precise just and tenable deal, and I anticipation they instrumentality it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to sound retired each azygous powerfulness plant, and each azygous bridge, successful Iran,” helium said successful the post.

Iran connected Sunday said that it was tightening its power implicit the waterway erstwhile again successful effect to the US blockade of Iranian ports, which began connected April 14. Tehran says the blockade violates the presumption of the ceasefire.

Trump connected Saturday said that the US was having “very bully conversations” with Iran, but helium noted that Tehran wanted to adjacent the important lipid corridor again and that it could not blackmail the US with specified a move.

What is happening successful the strait close now?

Lloyd’s List, a maritime firm, said postulation successful the Straight of Hormuz had travel to a halt aft Iranian forces fired connected respective ships connected Saturday.

The United ⁠⁠Kingdom ⁠⁠Maritime Trade Operations bureau said it received a study ⁠⁠of a tanker being fired upon by what it ‌‌said were 2 gunboats linked to the IRGC.

Meanwhile, India summoned the Iranian ambassador successful New Delhi and expressed heavy interest that 2 Indian-flagged ships had travel nether occurrence successful the strait, the authorities said.

Abas Aslani, a elder chap astatine the Centre for Middle East Strategic Studies successful Tehran, said the 2 sides are “engaging successful warfare rhetoric up of immoderate imaginable escalation and subject conflict”.

“It seems that they are pressuring each different to triumph concessions – and we are not determination yet,” Aslani told Al Jazeera.

“There are speculations that possibly the US is perchance readying to prosecute successful constricted strikes against Iran, but Iran has been saying that it volition retaliate strongly,” helium said. “This mightiness extremity again successful a wider conflict.”

What are different sticking points betwixt the US and Iran?

Nuclear enrichment

The biggest contention is implicit hardening positions connected Iran’s atomic programme, main among them being Tehran’s atomic enrichment capability.

On Friday, Trump said Washington would get Iran’s enriched uranium, calling it “nuclear dust” and referring to the 440kg (970lbs) believed to beryllium buried astatine sites deed by US strikes past year. He repeated connected Truth Social that “the USA volition get each Nuclear ‘Dust’”.

Speaking to Reuters quality agency, Trump said the US would enactment with Iran “at a bully leisurely pace” and “start excavating with large machinery” to retrieve the material.

In a rebuke to Trump, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said Washington had nary justification for depriving Iran of its atomic rights.

“Trump says Iran cannot marque usage of its atomic rights, but doesn’t accidental for what crime. Who is helium to deprive a federation of its rights?” Pezeshkian asked, according to the Iranian Students’ News Agency.

Israel and the US person repeatedly accused Iran of enriching uranium to make atomic weapons. But Iran says its atomic programme is for civilian purposes and that it has honoured its commitments nether the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Tulsi Gabbard, the manager of US National Intelligence, testified to Congress successful March 2025 that the US “continues to measure that Iran is not gathering a atomic limb and Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei has not authorised the atomic weapons programme helium suspended successful 2003.”

Khamenei was killed connected February 28 successful US and Israeli strikes. His lad Mojtaba Khamenei has been named his successor.

Lebanon

A ceasefire successful Lebanon had besides been a key Iranian demand earlier it agreed to the two-week truce betwixt the US-Israeli broadside and Iran.

While a 10-day ceasefire is technically successful spot betwixt Israel and the Lebanese equipped radical Hezbollah, it remains fragile. Israel has carried retired strikes contempt the truce, and its forces person created a Gaza-like “yellow line” to make a buffer zone.

The truce was declared conscionable days aft Lebanon and Israel held their archetypal face-to-face negotiations successful decades successful Washington. According to Iran’s FM Araghchi, the little reopening of the Strait of Hormuz came successful effect to the ceasefire being extended to Lebanon.

Hezbollah has condemned the ceasefire statement arsenic “an insult to our country” and “a slippery slope with nary extremity successful sight”.

“A ceasefire means a implicit cessation of each hostilities”, the Lebanon-based radical said. “Because we bash not spot this enemy, the absorption fighters volition stay successful the field, acceptable to respond to immoderate violations of the aggression. A ceasefire cannot beryllium unilateral; it indispensable beryllium mutual”.

Hezbollah is Tehran’s astir almighty determination state and a halfway pillar of the “axis of resistance” – a web of equipped groups crossed the Middle East aligned with Iran against Israel, including Yemen’s Houthis and respective factions successful Iraq.

The radical joined the warring aft the Israeli service killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei successful its archetypal strikes connected Tehran.