TEHRAN, Iran
Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to the continued US blockade of its ports, Tehran’s state media announced.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of the Islamic Republic’s parliament, had warned on Friday that the waterway would “not remain open” if the Trump administration maintained its naval blockade in the Arabian Sea.
Iran’s military has now reimposed restrictions on the critical maritime passage, claiming that the US “did not fulfil their obligations”.
On Friday night US President, Donald Trump, insisted that the naval blockade would stay “in full force and effect” until a permanent peace deal was signed (as seen above.)
Iran’s joint military command said on Saturday: “Iran agreed to allow a limited number of ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz according to agreements. But the US did not fulfil their obligations. So, the Strait of Hormuz is now closed again and passage requires Iran approval.”
Tehran added that it would place the strait “under strict management and control of the armed forces”, and that restrictions would remain in place as long as the US maintained its blockade, according to Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.
Speaking on board Air Force One on Friday night, Mr Trump vowed “the blockade will remain” and warned that he would “start dropping bombs again” if a permanent peace deal was not signed by Wednesday.
No comments:
Post a Comment