Iranian officials have asked Yemenâs Houthis to block the Red Sea if the U.S. carries out strikes on Tehranâs energy sites, according to Reuters.
Two senior Iranian sources and a regional source familiar with the matter reportedly told the outlet that the Houthis had been informed of the request, which was discussed within the Islamic Republicâs leadership.
The strait was open before the US and Israel joined forces to wage war on Iran, only to have that nation slam it shut. Some vessels got through during the ceasefire, with Iran charging $3 million for a fully loaded supertanker to transit the strait.
Trumpâs threatened toll would jack that cost up to $69 million.
President Donald Trump on Monday said the U.S. will impose fees in the Strait of Hormuz âat the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped,â after declaring America the âguardianâ of the major oil shipping route.
President Trump announced on Monday that the U.S. is reinstating the naval blockade on Iran and will prevent any ships from leaving or entering Iranian ports. The blockade will go into effect on July 14 at 4pm ET.
Trump also claimed the U.S. would be „reimbursed“ at a rate of 20% for securing safe passage for cargo ships, though the details and seriousness of the initiative were not immediately clear.
Vice President JD Vance on Saturday headed to peace talks in Switzerland, signaling renewed efforts to keep an agreement signed earlier this week by President Trump on track after Iranian security officials said they had closed the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
The statement added that the Israeli attacks have led to âbrutal killings and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of oppressed peopleâ in southern Lebanon, adding that the Israeli regime has also failed to withdraw its forces from those territories.
The military command said that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is the first step in response to the breach of commitments under the MoU by the US and its allies, adding that Iran will adopt further measures to compel the enemy to fulfill its obligations.
Iranâs military command said it will close the Strait of Hormuz due to Israelâs âongoingâ violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon and the United States âfailing to implementâ the first clause of the tentative agreement to end the war, Iranian state media reported on Saturday.
âIn view of the United Statesâ bad faith and its clear breach of its commitments by failing to implement the first article of the memorandum ending the war, and in response to the continuous and ongoing violation of the ceasefire by the Zionist regime in southern Lebanon⊠It hereby announces that the Strait of Hormuz will be closed to the passage of vessels,â Iranâs top joint military command, âKhatam al-Anbiya Central âHeadquarters, said in a statement that was reported by state broadcaster IRIB.
Iran closes Strait of Hormuz, launches retaliatory strikes on US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan after US bombs Iranian targets.
(2 June 2026 22:27 BST)
US forces fired a missile at a ship that was attempting to sail to an Iranian port in violation of an American blockade, disabling the vessel, the US military said on Tuesday.
The Botswana-flagged M/T Lexie – an unladen oil tanker – „ignored repeated warnings“ over a 24-hour period, and an American warplane „ultimately disabled the vessel by firing a Hellfire missile into the ship‘s engine room“, the US military‘s Central Command said in a statement.
Tasnim added that Tehran and allied militant groups in the region have placed on their agenda the âcomplete closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the activation of other fronts,â including the Bab el-Mandeb strait at the southern end of the Red Sea, where Yemenâs Iran-backed Houthi rebels have previously launched attacks on passing vessels.
„We‘re enforcing the blockade across the board against any ship of any nationality that is transiting to or from an Iranian port or territory,“ Caine said.
„We‘re closely tracking vessels of âinterest headed towards Iran âand those moving â away from Iran that were outside the blockade area when this blockade was ordered and … we‘re prepared and postured to intercept them,“ he âsaid.
The U.S. naval blockade on Iran began on April 13.
Watch the full news conference in the video player above.
Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, Hegseth said the U.S. blockade of Iranian shipping will continue „as long as it takes“ to accomplish America‘s „bold and dangerous“ mission to end Iran‘s threat to global security.
In an exclusive interview with Meet the Press after her visit to Cuba, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) says the Cuban people are being collectively punished by the U.S. oil blockade, and says she would like to see formal negotiations between the two countries.
TAMPA, Fla. â U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces will begin implementing a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports on April 13 at 10 a.m. ET, in accordance with the Presidentâs proclamation.
The blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. CENTCOM forces will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.
Additional information will be provided to commercial mariners through a formal notice prior to the start of the blockade. All mariners are advised to monitor Notice to Mariners broadcasts and contact U.S. naval forces on bridge-to-bridge channel 16 when operating in the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz approaches.
The President said he gave the order because Iran refused to agree not to develop nuclear weapons during talks with US officials in Pakistan on Saturday. âThe meeting with Iran began early in the morning, and lasted throughout the night â Close to 20 hours,â the President wrote in a second post on Sunday. âI could go into great detail, and talk about much that has been gotten but, there is only one thing that matters â IRAN IS UNWILLING TO GIVE UP ITS NUCLEAR AMBITIONS!â
Zwar lĂ€sst Teheran seit einigen Tagen im Zuge der Waffenruhe mit den USA vermehrt Schiffe passieren – aber nur, wenn diese eine Maut entrichten. Sehr zum Unwillen von US-PrĂ€sident Donald Trump. Der erklĂ€rte nun, die Kriegsmarine seines Landes sei angewiesen, die StraĂe von Hormus vollstĂ€ndig zu blockieren. Mehr noch: Jedes Schiff, das eine GebĂŒhr an Iran entrichtet habe und sich in internationalen GewĂ€ssern befinde, werde aufgebracht.
President Donald Trump said today the US Navy will begin blockading ships in the Strait of Hormuz and interdicting every ship that has paid a toll to Iran, after US peace talks with the country ended in a stalemate.
Trump also said the US will prevent passage for any ship that has paid a toll to Iran and will begin removing mines from the strait.
Der Ausfall am 16. MĂ€rz wurde nicht durch ein einzelnes Kraftwerk (wie das oft kritisierte Antonio-Guiteras-Werk bei Matanzas) verursacht, sondern dĂŒrfte durch ein Ăbertragungsproblem ausgelöst worden sein. Die Regierung untersucht die genaue Ursache. Bis zum 17. MĂ€rz war Strom in weiten Teilen teilweise zurĂŒck â Santiago de Cuba bleibt jedoch weiterhin dunkel. Weiterhin sind Millionen ohne Strom.
(today)
The Chinese government has moved to ban all fuel exports amid a worsening supply crunch because of the severe disruption in tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. The ban covers gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, unnamed sources told Reuters.
The restrictions will take immediate effect, applying to all cargoes that had not passed through customs as of March 11, the sources also said.
Ayatollah Khamenei also addressed the leadership in neighboring countries, urging them to reconsider their relations with foreign powers using their territories to launch attacks against Iran.
âWe share borders with 15 countries, both land and sea, and have always sought warm and constructive relations with them,â he said, adding that the enemy has established military and financial bases in some of these nations.
He made it clear that while Iran will continue to target these foreign bases, it remains committed to good relations with its neighbors, provided they stop hosting such foreign military installations.
Several vessels in the oil-rich Persian Gulf have been targeted in recent days as the US and Israelâs war with Iran spreads to the sea, sparking fears that disruption to the global oil supply could hit the worldâs economy.
On Wednesday night, two foreign oil tankers in Iraqi waters were set ablaze by an Iranian attack, killing at least one person, with dozens of crew members rescued. Iran claimed responsibility, saying an underwater drone âblew up two oil tankers in the Persian Gulf,â Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported.
IEA members hold emergency stockpiles of over 1.2 billion barrels, with a further 600 million barrels of industry stocks held under government obligation. The coordinated stock release is the sixth in the history of the IEA, which was created in 1974. Previous collective actions were taken in 1991, 2005, 2011, and twice in 2022.
The conflict in the Middle East that began on 28 February 2026 has impeded oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, with export volumes of crude and refined products currently at less than 10% of pre-conflict levels. This is forcing operators across the region to shut in or curtail a substantial amount of production.
An average of 20 million barrels per day of crude oil and oil products transited the Strait of Hormuz in 2025, or around 25% of the worldâs seaborne oil trade. Options for oil flows to bypass the Strait of Hormuz are limited.
Brent crude, the international standard, spiked to nearly $120 on Monday before falling back but was still at around $90 a barrel on Tuesday, nearly 24% higher than when the war started on Feb. 28. The Dow Jones Industrial Average drifted lower at the open Tuesday.
Iran has effectively stopped tankers from using the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the worldâs oil is carried. Attacks on merchant ships near the strait have killed at least seven sailors, according to the International Maritime Organization.
Roberto Morales Ojeda, member of the Political Bureau and Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, emphasized on his social media profiles that âdignity never collapses,â recalling critical moments in national history.
The leader noted that neither in the disaster at La Fernandina for National Hero JosĂ© MartĂ, nor at AlegrĂa de PĂo for the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution, Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, nor in the October Crisis, was the option of surrender considered. âThe enemyâs dream of seeing the white flag waving above the palm fronds is their true, unfulfilled desire,â he declared.
Morales Ojeda emphasized that this is not about isolated gestures from those who abandon collective resistance, but rather a major surrender that would bring an end to the history of the Cuban peopleâs struggles.
He pointed out that the country is going through difficult times under the impact of the imposed blockade, while the enemy boasts of causing shortages and is betting on the fall of the Revolution to gain political advantages. âHowever, no people has withstood the onslaught of the giant for so long,â he affirmed.
The Secretary of Organization stressed that independence is at stake and that âOnly our sense of patriotism and unity have kept us safe.â âWe will remain here, even if they never see the white flag waving above our palms,â he concluded.