Add the Gazzetta del Sud as a source
Iran announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to vessel transit, accusing the United States of violating the memorandum of understanding and citing continuing fighting in southern Lebanon. The announcement came from state television, which cited a statement from the unified central command Khatam al-Anbiya. On the opposite front, US Vice President JD Vance said that at the moment there was no evidence of a real closure.
Iran’s announcement
According to state TV, the Khatam al-Anbiya command justified the decision with what it defines as “the clear violation of commitments” by Washington, the failure to implement the first point of the end-of-war agreement and the continuation of hostilities in southern Lebanon, from which – Tehran claims – the Israeli forces would not have withdrawn. The command “announces that the Strait of Hormuz will be closed to the transit of ships”, specifying that this is a first measure and warning that, in the event of new violations, others will follow.
The US response
From the United States, Vice President JD Vance – in an interview with Fox – underlined that at the moment there is no evidence that Iran is actually closing the Strait, despite observing the presence of numerous mines in the strait. Vance also reported that envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are “already on the ground,” engaged in the diplomatic effort.
The memorandum and the fragile truce
The new closure comes a few days after the signing of the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran, designed specifically to reopen the Strait and defuse the crisis, and is part of a sequence of openings and closures that has been going on for months. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s main energy hubs: any interruption to maritime traffic risks having immediate repercussions on global energy markets. In the background, tensions remain over the ceasefire in southern Lebanon, where attacks continue.
Iran: “Delegation will go to Switzerland to ask the US to respect the agreement”
«An Iranian delegation will travel to Switzerland to follow and request the implementation of the counterparty’s commitments» of the memorandum with the USA «and clarify how they intend to respect them». This was stated by the spokesperson of the Iranian Foreign Ministry Esmail Baghaei quoted by the Fars agency, underlining that “the other party must adopt necessary measures as soon as possible, otherwise the entire agreement will be compromised” and that “the start of negotiations for the final agreement is subject to the implementation of the clauses of the memorandum of understanding”.