The Iranian regime announced this Saturday the closure of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz in response to the attacks that, in recent hours, the Israeli army has launched against the Shiite militia Hezbollah in Lebanon, and which Tehran has described as a “clear violation” of the agreement with the United States.
“Do not approach the Strait of Hormuz, otherwise your safety will be compromised.” This was the message that the Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran addressed to the oil tankers that were preparing to cross this strategic sea route, through which approximately 20% of the oil consumed worldwide transits.
For its part, Washington has downplayed the announcement, pointing out that, for the moment, there is no evidence that traffic through the strait has been interrupted.
“Yesterday (Friday) 16 million barrels of oil were transported through the Strait of Hormuz. You can see how these ships continue to circulate,” said US Vice President JD Vance.
The US Central Command (Centcom) expressed along the same lines, stating that this Saturday traffic through the strait had even increased.
“Maritime commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz increased on June 20 (…) with the passage of 55 merchant ships that transported large volumes of cargo and more than 17 million barrels of oil to international markets,” the agency said in a message published on the social network X.
“US forces remain present and vigilant to guarantee full compliance with the agreement with Iran,” they added from Centcom.
Delegations from Iran and the US were scheduled to meet this Friday in Switzerland, but the meeting was postponed until Sunday.
They blame Israel
Following the announcement by the Revolutionary Guard, Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters – the main command body of the Iranian army – justified the measure by referring to Israel’s “continuous and relentless violation of the ceasefire” in southern Lebanon, as well as the “brutal massacre and displacement of hundreds of thousands” of Lebanese citizens, according to the BBC Persian service.
Furthermore, the Iranian theocracy cites the “refusal of the Zionist occupation forces to withdraw from the territories of southern Lebanon,” as Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Friday.
In the last few hours, at least 20 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon, despite the fact that 24 hours earlier the US had announced a new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
Local authorities reported that 16 people were killed in the Nabatieh district and seven in the neighboring Saida district, and others were injured, after Israeli warplanes, drones and artillery attacked several areas.
Although Israel confirmed the agreement announced by Washington, in recent hours its army has admitted that it has attacked “dozens” of Hezbollah targets after the militia launched more than 50 projectiles against Israeli positions in the region.
For its part, Hezbollah accused Israel of breaking its word.
“What worries us is that the enemy fully respects the ceasefire and does not try to attack our country or our localities, or occupy new positions,” said Hassan Fadlallah, leader of Hezbollah, in statements reported by the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA).
Washington has criticized Israeli operations in Lebanon, a country that became embroiled in the escalation between the US and Iran after Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel in retaliation for an attack that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The first point of the memorandum between Iran and the US states that both sides must declare the “immediate and permanent cessation” of military operations on “all fronts”, including Lebanon.
Before the ceasefire announced on Friday, at least fifty people had died in the clashes between Israel and Hezbollah, according to figures from the Lebanese Ministry of Health.