Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that it was closing the Strait of Hormuz in response to Israel launching airstrikes on Lebanon, according to multiple reports.
In a statement, the IRGC Navy “warned ships not to approach the waterway,” adding that the ships’ “safety would be at risk if they did so,” NBC News reported.
“Iran’s top joint military command” explained that the closing of the Strait of Hormuz was in response to “breaches of commitments by” the United States and Israel, according to the outlet:
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy warned ships not to approach the waterway, which Iran had committed to reopening under the interim peace deal signed this week. It said in a statement that vessels’ safety would be at risk if they did so.
Iran’s top joint military command said the closure was the “first step” in response to what were described as breaches of commitments by the U.S. and Israel, according to Iran’s semiofficial Mehr news agency.
In response to the statement from the IRGC, Capt. Tim Hawkins, who serves as a spokesperson for the U.S. Central Command, explained that Iran did “not control” the strait, the Associated Press reported.
“Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz,” Hawkins said. “Traffic continues to flow, and U.S. forces are monitoring the situation to ensure this remains the case.”
A “negotiating team” for Iran was also reported to be departing to Switzerland, according to the outlet.
In a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump stated that there “will be NO TOLLS in the Hormuz Strait for 60 days during the Cease Fire Period.” He said:
There will be NO TOLLS in the Hormuz Strait for 60 days during the Cease Fire Period, and there will be NO TOLLS after the 60 day period has expired, unless they are imposed by and for the United States of America, should the deal not be completed, for services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East for purposes of both past, present, and future reimbursement of costs.
Iran’s announcement of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz comes after the text of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Iran and the U.S. was released. One of the points in the agreement stated that the two countries “and their allies in the current war” were declaring “the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon” by signing the agreement.
Point one in the MOU said:
The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran, and their allies in the current war, by signing this MoU, declare the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and undertake from now on not to initiate any war or any military operation against each other, and to refrain from the threat or use of force against each other, and ensuring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon,” point one in the MOU said.
Another point in the MOU stated that Iran would “make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels, with no charges for 60 days only, from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman, and vice versa.”
Trump was previously reported to have signed a copy of the MOU during a dinner that took place at the Palace of Versailles. Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian was reported to have signed the MOU remotely.
