Strait of Hormuz 'will not remain open' if US blockade continues, Iran says

Iran responded sharply on Saturday (April 18) to U.S. President Donald Trump saying that the U.S. blockade of ships sailing to Iranian ports, announced after talks with Iran last weekend ended without agreement, would remain until "our transaction with Iran is 100% complete."

Iran's parliament speaker and senior negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said in a social media post that the strait, which until recently carried about a fifth of the world's oil trade, "will not remain open" if the U.S. blockade continues.

He also said Trump had made multiple false claims about the peace talks on Friday (April 17).

Iran temporarily reopened the Strait of Hormuz on Friday following a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, but the subsequent statements and clarifications from both sides left uncertainty over how quickly shipping might return to normal, and some vessels could be observed making unsuccessful attempts to cross the strait on Friday before turning back.

-Shung Sin Tan/Reuters