April 18: Iran restricts Strait of Hormuz traffic as US undermines truce with blockade

By Press TV Website Staff

On April 18, Tehran reinforced its control over the Strait of Hormuz, stating that all maritime traffic will remain under Iranian supervision as long as Washington’s "blockade" of Iranian ports continues.

The Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) stated that all traffic will remain under Iran’s supervision until a real end to the US-Israeli war on Iran is secured.

Iranian officials said no new round of negotiations would proceed without mutual understanding, as army commanders highlighted readiness across land, sea, and air domains. 

Across the region, Hezbollah said Iran’s firm stance at Hormuz forced the US and Israel into accepting the Lebanon ceasefire.

Key developments on day 50 of the war, eleventh day of the ceasefire:

• The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy said in a statement that Iran has closed down the Strait of Hormuz after the United States chose to retain its "blockade" of the Islamic Republic's ports in violation of the conditions of a standing ceasefire.
• Earlier during the day, the spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, Lieutenant-Colonel Ebrahim Zolfaghari, stated that Iran has reasserted control over the Strait of Hormuz due to the United States' so-called naval blockade of the waterway and its acts of “piracy.”
• SNSC said that the Islamic Republic of Iran will maintain control of all traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz until a negotiated end to the US-Israeli-imposed war is achieved.
• Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said that the Islamic Republic will enter the next round of negotiations with the United States only if both sides agree upon a framework of understanding.
• According to a report, Iran has not yet approved the next round of indirect negotiations with the United States in light of President Donald Trump’s imposition of a “naval blockade” on Iranian ports and the American side’s excessive demands during recent talks in Islamabad.
• Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Mojtaba Khamenei, emphasised that Iran’s brave naval force stands ready to make enemies taste the bitterness of new defeats in a message on Army Day.
• Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the Iranian Army is determined to continue its path to defend Iran’s territorial integrity and the Islamic Revolution.
• Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said he personally warned a US delegation in Islamabad against escalation in the Strait of Hormuz. He told the US side that Iranian forces would open fire at American minesweepers if they moved "an inch" from their position in the strategic waterway.
• Qalibaf said the Islamic Republic of Iran successfully pushed back the enemy in the recent war despite its superior financial and material resources by applying the asymmetric warfare strategy.
• Secretary-General of Hezbollah Sheikh Naim Qassem thanked Iran for its support in the face of Israeli aggression and said the closure of the Strait of Hormuz forced the United States and Israel to agree to a ceasefire in Lebanon.
• Brigadier General Amir Alireza Elhami, commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Joint Air Defense Headquarters, said Iran’s air defense forces successfully intercepted 170 enemy drones during the US-Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic. 
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the United States was seeking to take control of the vital oil route through the Strait of Hormuz as the primary objective of its aggression on Iranian soil.
• Iran’s foreign ministry said its enriched uranium stockpile will not be transferred “anywhere”, rejecting claims by Trump that Tehran had agreed to hand it over.
• The Intelligence Organization of the IRGC said cells affiliated with the United States, the Israeli regime, and Britain have been identified and dismantled in the provinces of East Azarbaijan, Kerman, and Mazandaran.
• At least 75 members of the British Parliament signed a motion to sanction Israel over its genocide in Palestine and Lebanon.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir