Hours after agreeing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Iran blocked oil tankers from transiting the waterway Wednesday and threatened to destroy any vessel that attempts to pass without permission from the Iranian navy.
The Iranian embassy in Mumbai cited Fars News Agency in a post to X: “Due to Israeli strikes in Lebanon, oil tankers will not be permitted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.”
An Iranian official told a ship crew member, in audio obtained by the Wall Street Journal, that the threat is not empty. “You must receive permission from Iranian Sepah navy for passing through the strait. If any vessel tries to transit without permission, will be destroyed.”
The announcement came hours after President Trump unveiled a two-week ceasefire with Iran that was supposed to reopen the strait to commercial shipping.
Israel struck densely populated areas of central Beirut on Wednesday, killing at least 89 people and wounding 700, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. Israeli officials said the U.S.-Iran ceasefire does not apply to Lebanon and that military operations against Hezbollah would continue.
Iran invoked the Israeli strikes as justification for once again shutting down one of the world’s most critical oil shipping lanes, through which roughly 20 percent of global crude supply passes.
The move came after Iran had already signaled it intended to charge vessels a fee for safe passage through the strait, a posture Trump initially appeared to endorse last week, calling a toll system a “beautiful thing.”
Vice President JD Vance had warned Wednesday that the ceasefire was “fragile.” Iran’s decision to reassert control over the Hormuz hours after the ink dried on the agreement underscored that assessment.
