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CAIRO (AP) — Tensions in the Strait of Hormuz escalated on Saturday as the United States continued its strategy to isolate Iranian ports, while Iran backtracked on its decision to reopen the vital maritime passage.
This uncertainty over the crucial shipping lane threatens to exacerbate the ongoing global energy crisis and could potentially reignite hostilities between the two nations. Despite this, negotiators remain hopeful that a new agreement is within reach.
On Saturday, Iran’s joint military command announced that the “control of the Strait of Hormuz has reverted to its previous status under stringent management and oversight by the armed forces.” They cautioned that the strait would remain closed to transit as long as the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports persisted.
Ebrahim Azizi, who leads Iran’s National Security Commission in parliament, remarked that the strait is “returning to the status quo.” Previously, this meant that ships needed Iranian naval clearance and had to pay a toll before passing through.
This development followed a statement by Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, who had earlier declared the strait open in conjunction with a 10-day truce between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group in Lebanon. Halting Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah was a primary condition for Iranian negotiators, who accused Israel of violating a previous ceasefire with strikes in Lebanon. Israel maintained that its agreement did not extend to Lebanon.
U.S. President Donald Trump first appeared to take a similar position on reopening the strait before later saying the American blockade “will remain in full force” regardless of what Iran does until a deal is reached, including about Iran’s nuclear program.
Even as the U.S.-Iran ceasefire appeared to hold, the back-and-forth over the strait — through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil typically passes — highlighted how easily it could unravel
Control over the strait has proven to be one Iran’s main points of leverage and prompted the United States to deploy forces and initiate a blockade on Iranian ports as part of an effort to force Iran to accept a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire to end almost seven weeks of war that has raged between Israel, the U.S. and Iran.
A data firm, Kpler, said movement through the strait remained confined to corridors requiring Iran’s approval.
U.S. forces have sent 21 ships back to Iran since the blockade began on Monday, U.S. Central Command said on X.
Pakistan announces progress toward new deal
Despite the escalation in the Strait of Hormuz, Pakistani officials say the United States and Iran are still moving closer to a deal ahead of the April 22 ceasefire deadline.
The ceasefire in Lebanon could clear one major obstacle to an agreement. Speaking at a diplomatic forum in Antalya, Turkey, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said the ceasefire in Lebanon was a positive sign, noting that fighting between Israel and Hezbollah had been a key sticking point before talks in Islamabad ended “very close” to an agreement last weekend.
Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir visited Tehran, while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Antalya, the military and Sharif’s office said. Pakistan is expected to host a second round of talks between Iran and the U.S. early next week.
Questions linger about Lebanon truce
Even though mediators were optimistic, it was unclear to what extent Hezbollah would abide by a truce it did not play a role in negotiating and which will leave Israeli troops occupying a stretch of southern Lebanon.
Trump said in another post that Israel is “prohibited” by the U.S. from further strikes on Lebanon and that “enough is enough” in the Israel-Hezbollah war.
The State Department said the prohibition applies only to offensive attacks and not to actions taken in self-defense.
Shortly before Trump’s post, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel agreed to the ceasefire in Lebanon “at the request of my friend President Trump,” but that the campaign against Hezbollah is not complete.
He claimed Israel had destroyed about 90% of Hezbollah’s missile and rocket stockpiles and added that Israeli forces “have not finished yet” with the dismantling of the group.
In Beirut, displaced families began moving toward southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs despite warnings by officials not to return to their homes until it became clear whether the ceasefire would hold.
The Lebanese army and U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon reported sporadic artillery shelling in some parts of southern Lebanon in the hours after the ceasefire took effect.
The war, which began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,290 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen U.S. service members have also been killed.
__ Metz reported from Ramallah, West Bank. Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad and Andrew Wilks in Antalya, Turkey contributed to this report.