Iran said on Saturday that it was reimposing strict military controls on the strategic Strait of Hormuz, alleging “repeated breaches of trust” by the United States, CNN reported.

A day earlier, Tehran had fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial vessels after a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

However, on Saturday, Iran said it had been forced to restore tighter controls on shipping due to what is described as repeated violations by the US and acts ​of “piracy” under ⁠the guise of a blockade of Iranian ports, Reuters reported.

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There was no immediate response from the United States.

Here are more top updates from the conflict in West Asia:

  • On Saturday, Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on social media said: “With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open.” He added that passage through the waterway would require authorisation from Iran.
  • United States President Donald Trump said that he may not extend the tentative ceasefire with Iran if negotiations fail to produce an agreement by Wednesday, CNN reported. Trump also said that Washington would obtain Tehran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium one way or another, cautioning that the transfer could come “in a much more unfriendly form” if negotiations fail.
  • Earlier, the president said that Tehran has “agreed to everything” in talks with Washington, including working together to remove enriched uranium from Iran and take it to the US, according to CNN.
  • Trump’s administration on Friday issued a waiver allowing countries, including India, to purchase sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products, that were loaded onto ships as of Friday. The US Treasury Department said that the waiver allows these purchases till May 16. An earlier 30-day waiver had expired on April 11. The move is aimed at easing global energy prices, which have increased amid the conflict in West Asia.

The war

The US and Israel launched an attack on Iran on February 28, claiming that Tehran’s action posed an existential threat to Israel. Washington acts as a guarantor of Israel’s security. Iran retaliated by striking Israel and US military bases in the region and targeting major cities in Gulf countries.

Tehran also effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterbody connecting the Gulf to the Arabian Sea, for most international commercial vessels, triggering a global energy crisis. About 20% of global petroleum supply passes through the maritime chokepoint.

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Washington and Tehran had on April 8 agreed to a two-week ceasefire to allow further negotiations to end the conflict. While Israel, which was not involved in the talks, has not struck Iran since the ceasefire took effect, it had continued to attack Lebanon until Friday’s deal. However, peace talks that were held in Islamabad collapsed on Sunday.

Israel has been claiming that Iran is close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, which could alter the regional security balance. Tehran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.