WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD: Iran said it was tightening control over the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, warning mariners the vital energy route was again closed, but President Donald Trump said Tehran could not blackmail the United States by shutting the waterway.
Tehran said it was responding to a continued US blockade of Iranian ports, calling it a violation of their ceasefire, while Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said Iran’s navy was ready to inflict “new bitter defeats” on its enemies.
Shipping sources said at least two vessels reported coming under fire while trying to transit the waterway. In Mumbai, Tehran’s ambassador to New Delhi, Mohammad Fathali, was called in for a meeting with India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri during which Misri conveyed India’s deep concern at the shooting incident.
Misri urged the ambassador to convey India’s views to the authorities in Iran and resume at the earliest the process of facilitating India-bound ships across the Strait.
Screenshot showing a translated statement of Iran Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf posted on his social media account. (X: @mb_ghalibaf)
