Iran closes Hormuz again after Israeli attacks on Lebanon despite ceasefire

Iran on Wednesday closed the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most critical maritime oil chokepoint, less than 24 hours after US President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Tehran, state-run Fars News Agency reported. Iran said tanker traffic on Hormuz would come to a "complete stop", citing ceasefire violations by Israel over its strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, which have claimed over 250 lives.

Before the closure of the strait, two ships were allowed to pass through before Iran reversed course. According to Israel, Lebanon is not a part of the ceasefire deal, a statement disputed by Iran. Tehran has called for a complete halt of hostilities, including the targeting of Hezbollah and other Iran-backed militia by Israel as part of the ceasefire.

A top Iranian official demanded the shutting down of the Strait of Hormuz due to the "savage Zionist aggression against Lebanon", saying that the ceasefire should be applicable to everyone.

"In response to the savage Zionist aggression



against Lebanon, the passage of ships in the Strait of Hormuz must be halted right now... The Lebanese sacrificed their lives for us and we must not leave them alone for a moment. Ceasefire either on all fronts or on no fronts," Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesperson for the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Iranian Parliament, wrote on X.

Earlier, Trump said the two-week ceasefire with Iran required Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but Iran’s Supreme National Security Council maintained that Washington had, in principle, accepted continued Iranian control over the crucial waterway.

A senior Iranian official indicated that Tehran was expected to ease its blockade by Thursday or Friday ahead of planned peace talks in Islamabad, though vessels would still need Iran’s permission to transit the strait.

The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping corridor between Iran and Oman/UAE, connects the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea and carries nearly one-fifth of the world’s daily oil and LNG supplies.