Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy declared on Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil-shipping corridors, would remain closed “until further notice” after firing warning shots at vessels it accused of straying from an approved transit route, according to state media reports.
In a statement carried on Iranian state television, the IRGC said multiple vessels “disregarded our warnings and instructions to correct their course and proceed along the approved route,” with one ship “struck by a warning shot and brought to a stop.”
The Guards warned that the strait would remain closed “until further notice” and said it would consider targeting “additional enemy bases in the region” if it faced further attacks.
The closure, Iran’s second in recent months, deals a fresh blow to an already fragile ceasefire arrangement with Washington. A Cyprus-flagged container ship was hit by Iranian fire and suffered significant engine-room damage, with a civilian crew member reported missing, according to U.S. Central Command.
Washington’s response was swift. A little more than an hour after Iran’s announcement, the U.S. launched a new round of strikes, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declaring on social media, “Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay.” U.S. Central Command said the strikes were intended to keep degrading Iran’s ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial vessels moving freely through the strait. State media in Iran reported explosions in the coastal towns of Bandar Abbas and Sirik.
The incident follows a turbulent week. Three commercial tankers were attacked earlier in the week as they attempted to cross a U.S.-recommended route through Omani waters, prompting an exchange of strikes between Iran and the United States.
Iran has repeatedly insisted that the only “safe” passage is a separate corridor through its own territorial waters.
Diplomacy had been underway just a day earlier, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi meeting his Omani counterpart to discuss “appropriate mechanisms for ensuring the safe passage of ships,” and Oman confirming it would continue talks with Tehran “at the technical and political levels. “Those efforts now appear badly undercut.
The closure also comes amid a charged political moment inside Iran. The country’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since the war began, issued his first statement following the funeral of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowing that Iranians would avenge the elder Khamenei’s killing in the war’s opening strikes on February 28. Such revenge, he said, “is the will of our nation and must certainly be carried out.”
His remarks came shortly after Iranians attending funeral processions were seen carrying placards calling for the killing of President Trump, who had earlier warned that any such plot would see the U.S. “decimate and destroy all areas” of Iran in retaliation.
U.S. media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, have reported that Israel shared intelligence with Washington suggesting Iran had devised a plan to assassinate the president, though Trump has denied both the existence of a fresh plot and that Israel was the source of the tip.
Strikes on Iran over the preceding two days before the latest warning-shot incident killed at least 17 people and wounded 115 others, according to Iranian Health Ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour.
The strait, through which roughly a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil and a fifth of global LNG shipments normally pass, has already seen traffic collapse this year amid the wider conflict.
According to the Wikipedia entry tracking the crisis, shipping through Hormuz has been largely blocked since the U.S. and Israel launched their air campaign against Iran on February 28, with the IRGC laying mines, boarding vessels, and repeatedly redefining the strait as an Iranian “operational area.”
Oil markets are likely to react sharply to Sunday’s announcement, given the strait’s outsized role in global energy trade.
With Washington signaling it may abandon further negotiations, Trump reportedly said this week, “We can play games, but I’m not sure I want to make a deal. Let’s just finish the job,” and Tehran doubling down on threats of retaliation.
The coming days are likely to determine whether the ceasefire framework collapses entirely or a new diplomatic channel, possibly brokered through Oman, can pull the situation back from the brink.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz following warning shots on commercial vessels and immediate U.S. retaliatory strikes signals the collapse of the fragile ceasefire and threatens a key global oil and gas corridor.
With Iran’s new leadership vowing revenge and Washington weighing an end to negotiations, the situation risks escalating rapidly, with serious implications for global energy markets and regional stability.
