Iran announces another closure of the Strait of Hormuz Iran is really treating the Strait of Hormuz like a cash cow. The Iranians insist that the U.S. must abide by the signed memorandum of understanding, especially the first clause, where both the U.S. and Iran agreed to respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, including Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity. So, Iran believes that unless Lebanon achieves a full ceasefire, peace talks will not move forward. This also includes Israel needing to withdraw its troops from Iranian territory. But currently, Israel is still attacking Lebanon. As a result, Iran's central military command stated that due to Israel's attacks on southern Lebanon, which violate the agreement between Iran and the U.S., they have decided to proceed with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. However, based on the current shipping situation in the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf of Oman, and the waters off the UAE, there are still plenty of vessels with AIS signals. Ships are still moving along the route, and there’s no sign of the main channel being completely cleared, no mass turnarounds, or all vessels anchoring and waiting. The U.S. also claims that 55 commercial ships passed through the strait that day, transporting over 17 million barrels of oil, indicating that the Strait of Hormuz has not been blocked. PS: Pre-war normal levels were about 130 ships passing through daily. Bitget: Join and you’re a VIP! Crypto, U.S. stocks, CFDs—global opportunities all in one place!