Because of the naval blockade Iran threatens Trump to close the Strait of Hormuz again
Iran is threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz again if the US blockade of Iranian ports continues.
18.04.2026, 05:32
18.04.2026, 06:58
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- Tehran is considering closing the Strait of Hormuz again because the US Navy continues to block ships heading for Iranian ports.
- The dispute is putting a strain on negotiations on a continuation of the ceasefire beyond Wednesday morning.
- Iran is denying a report by Donald Trump that the Mullah regime will give up nuclear material.
"With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open," Iran's influential parliamentary speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on Platform X.
The passage through the strait, which is important for the global oil and gas market, will take place on the route "determined by Iran" and with "Iranian approval", Tehran's chief negotiator added.
After weeks of blockade due to the Iran war, the state leadership in Tehran had declared that oil tankers and merchant ships could sail through the strait during the ongoing ceasefire.
Conversely, the USA wants to maintain its own naval blockade, which only applies to ships with a port of departure or destination in Iran, as President Donald Trump emphasized. It will remain in place "until our agreements with Iran are fully concluded", he wrote on the Truth Social platform. This caused outrage in Tehran.
Iran threatens the USA
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghai threatened the USA. "The so-called naval blockade is a violation of the ceasefire and will result in an appropriate response from Iran," he said, according to the Tasnim news agency.
Ghalibaf wrote that whether the road was open or closed and which regulations applied would be decided on the ground, "not through social media". Trump had made false claims. This would not allow the USA to make any progress in negotiations either.
Efforts are currently underway, mediated by Pakistan, to extend the ceasefire in place until Wednesday morning and to initiate a comprehensive agreement on the dispute over Iran's nuclear program. Trump expects an agreement to be reached in the next few days.
"Let's wait and see"
"Talks are ongoing" and will continue over the weekend, he told reporters. According to unconfirmed US media reports, the negotiators could meet for a new round of talks in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Monday.
A first round of talks there ended last weekend without any concrete results. Pakistan is already preparing for further negotiations. Registrations for media representatives have begun and additional security personnel have been deployed to the city.
According to the White House, planning is still underway. A high-ranking US official told the German Press Agency that no specific date had yet been set. Asked about the fact that Iran continues to see significant differences in positions, Trump told reporters: "Well, that could be. Let's wait and see." However, he does not believe "that there are too many significant differences."
Iran: no transfer of uranium
One of the central points of contention is the handling of Iran's highly enriched uranium. The broadcaster CBS News quoted Trump from a telephone interview as saying that the USA would work with Iran to recover its uranium reserves. "Our people will work with the Iranians to get it. And then we will bring it to the United States."
Iran's foreign office spokesman Baghai immediately rejected this. "The transfer of uranium to the US was never an option and was not on the table," he said, according to the Tasnim news agency. Trump, on the other hand, wrote on Truth Social that the USA would receive Iran's uranium and that money would not flow.
The US news portal "Axios" had previously reported, citing two US officials and other people familiar with the ongoing negotiations, that one of the issues being discussed was whether the US would release 20 billion US dollars in frozen Iranian funds. In return, Tehran would give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
Trump: sea mines are gone - or at least soon
Iran's enriched uranium will "not be transferred anywhere", Baghai said according to state media. With a view to possible further negotiations with the USA on a lasting peace, the Foreign Office spokesperson said: "As soon as we have the feeling that our interests are taken into account and secured, then we are not far from an agreement."
For Iran, the lifting of sanctions and compensation for war damage are enormously important. Meanwhile, according to Trump, the Iranian sea mines allegedly scattered in the strait between Oman and Iran have been recovered - or are still being removed.
"Iran has cleared or is in the process of clearing all sea mines with the help of the US," Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform. Experts believe that Iran deployed several dozen mines south of Iranian waters about a month ago - even though Tehran has never confirmed such a deployment.
