Tehran:The British military said on Saturday that two gunboats from Iran's Revolutionary Guard fired on a tanker that was passing through the Strait of Hormuz. This happened after Iran said it had put new restrictions on the important waterway. The UK Maritime Trade Operations Center said that the tanker and crew were safe, but they didn't say what the ship was or where it was going.
AdIran said earlier today that it was putting restrictions back on the strait because the US had blocked Iranian shipping and ports. Iran has stopped ships from crossing the border during the seven-week-long war, except for those it allows.
AdOn Saturday, Iran's joint military command said, "control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state ... under strict management and control of the armed forces." It said that it would keep blocking traffic through the strait as long as the US blockade of Iranian ports was in place.
Earlier on Saturday, Iran said it was putting restrictions back on the strait because the US had blocked Iranian shipping and ports. During the seven-week-long war, Iran has stopped ships from crossing, except for those it has given permission to.
Ebrahim Azizi, who is in charge of the Iranian parliament's National Security Commission, said that the strait was "returning to the status quo." He had previously said that ships needed permission from the Iranian navy and to pay a toll before passing through.
The change happened the day after Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the strait was open and a 10-day ceasefire was announced between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. Iranian negotiators wanted an end to Israel's war with Hezbollah. They had already accused Israel of breaking last week's ceasefire by attacking Lebanon. Israel had said that the deal didn't include Lebanon.
At first, US President Donald Trump seemed to agree with the idea of reopening the strait. But later, he said that the American blockade "will remain in full force" no matter what Iran does until a deal is reached, even about Iran's nuclear program.
The ceasefire between the US and Iran seemed to be holding, but the back-and-forth over the strait, which usually sees about one-fifth of the world's oil pass through it, showed how easily it could fall apart.
Iran's control over the strait has been one of its main sources of power. It has led the US to send troops and block Iranian ports in an effort to get Iran to agree to a ceasefire brokered by Pakistan to end almost seven weeks of war between Israel, the US, and Iran.
Kpler, a data company, said that movement through the strait was still limited to corridors that needed Iran's permission. According to US Central Command on X, US forces have sent 21 ships back to Iran since the blockade started on Monday.
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