IRGC forces US troops to leave Hormuz Strait after attack on Iranian ship: Report 

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has forced US forces stationed in the Sea of Oman to retreat and leave the area after they fired at an Iranian merchant ship, a report said.

According to a report by Mehr news agency on Sunday, US terrorist forces stationed in the waters surrounding the Sea of Oman fired at an Iranian merchant ship to force it to return to the Iranian territorial waters.

It added that the US move was in response to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the return of Indian and British merchant ships as well as the control measures by the IRGC.

However, it emphasized, the Americans were forced to retreat and leave the area following the “timely presence and rapid response” of the IRGC naval units in support of the Iranian ship.

The US announced a naval blockade on Iran after failing to reach its military objectives in a joint war of aggression with Israel against the country that started in late February.

The move came in response to Iran’s effective imposition of restrictions on transit via the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway in the Persian Gulf which is responsible for a fifth of global oil demand.

Iran on Friday briefly eased its restrictions on the passage of non-hostile commercial shipping in the Strait amid efforts to negotiate a permanent end to the war.

However, the IRGC Navy said in a statement on Saturday that Iran has closed down the Strait of Hormuz after the United States chose to retain its blockade of Iranian ports in violation of the conditions of a two-week ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump on April 8.

"However, due to the violation of the ceasefire conditions, and as the American adversary has not lifted the naval blockade on Iranian vessels and ports, the Strait of Hormuz has been closed as of this evening until this blockade is removed," the IRGC said.

Earlier on Sunday, Tasnim news agency reported that Iranian Armed Forces intercepted two oil tankers sailing under the flags of Botswana and Angola in the Strait of Hormuz and turned them back.

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