Iran Revolutionary Guards stop tankers in the Strait of Hormuz
According to a ship tracking service, there has been an exchange of fire between the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and Indian merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz. As the TankerTrackers.com service reported, citing the maritime distress channel, Iranian units violently pushed back two ships. Among those affected was a VLCC supertanker carrying two million barrels (around 272,000 tons) of Iraqi crude oil.
18.04.2026, 14:03
SDA
The UK Merchant Shipping Safety Office (UKMTO) announced on Platform X that two Revolutionary Guard Navy speedboats had approached a tanker and fired shots, the UKMTO said, citing the captain. Crew members were not injured. There was also no damage to property.
The military incident immediately follows Tehran's revocation of the one-day opening of the strait. The Revolutionary Guards had threatened consequences if the closure was ignored.
The Iranian announcement of the opening and the subsequent U-turn have caused further confusion about the uncertain situation in the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war. At around the same time as Tehran announced that the Strait of Hormuz would be closed again, the Iraqi oil ministry announced that oil exports would resume in the coming days. "We have contacted tankers and large companies to arrange oil exports and the door is open to all companies," it said, according to a report by the Iraqi state agency INA.
The background to the renewed blockade is the continued naval blockade of Iranian ports by the USA. Tehran is making unrestricted passage dependent on the lifting of US sanctions.
