New Delhi: Commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed down again after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced Saturday that the critical maritime chokepoint would be closed again. But Washington has disputed that the waterway has been closed.
According to maritime intelligence firm Windward, only 12 vessels transited the strait on Sunday, down from 35 ships the previous day. Despite the slowdown, commercial traffic has not come to a complete halt. Data from maritime analytics company Kpler showed that four Qatar-controlled liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers entered the strait Monday, while London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) tracking data recorded a Marshall Islands-flagged dry bulk carrier entering the Gulf the same day.
The IRGC said it was reimposing restrictions on maritime traffic in response to what it described as continued Israeli military activity in southern Lebanon and Washington’s failure to implement elements of a ceasefire arrangement reached on 17 June.
US President Donald Trump also issued a series of warnings to Tehran amid the dispute over access to the waterway. Speaking to Fox News, Trump warned Iranian officials against attempting to block maritime traffic through the strait.
“You close it, and you won’t have a country. You won’t even make it back to your country,” Trump said.
Trump further suggested that Washington could take direct action to keep the waterway open, if necessary.
“We may take over the strait if we have to,” he added.
CENTCOM, the United States Central Command, rejected Tehran’s claims of a renewed closure shortly after the IRGC’s announcement.
“Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz. Traffic continues to flow, and US forces are monitoring the situation to ensure this remains the case,” CENTCOM Navy Captain Tim Hawkins told Reuters.
The IRGC announcement came days after US and Iran signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz and extending a 60-day ceasefire agreement. The waterway, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil passes, had remained effectively closed since the conflict began on 28 February.
The strait reopened Thursday following the agreement, with Kpler data showing that 25 vessels transited the waterway that day. Shipping activity increased further Saturday before declining again after Tehran’s announcement.
The latest developments come as negotiations between Washington and Tehran continue in Switzerland. The talks, attended by US Vice President J. D. Vance, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, are focused on securing a final agreement within the 60-day ceasefire period.
Speaking to reporters Sunday, Vance said discussions would centre on “the nuclear issue” and the “Lebanon ceasefire issue”.
First-round negotiations concluded in Switzerland Monday, with mediators from Pakistan and Qatar describing the talks as “positive and constructive”. In a joint statement, the two mediating countries said a high-level committee would oversee a communication mechanism for the Strait of Hormuz and that the Iranian and American delegations had agreed to establish a “de-confliction cell” involving Israel, Iran, and the US, aimed at ending military operations in Lebanon.
For now, shipping data suggests that commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains active, though substantially reduced. The outcome of the ongoing negotiations in Switzerland is likely to play a key role in determining the future of commercial shipping through the strait in the weeks ahead.
Kyra Menon is an intern at ThePrint
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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