The Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, Iran’s main military operations headquarters, announced today that due to the failure of the US to implement Paragraph 1 of the U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding, the Strait of Hormuz will be closed.
“In light of the US’s clear bad faith and breach of its commitments regarding the non-implementation of the first clause of the war-ending memorandum of understanding, and in response to the uninterrupted and continuous ceasefire violations by the Israeli regime in southern Lebanon, the brutal killing and displacement of hundreds of thousands of the oppressed people of that land, as well as the continued failure of Zionist occupation forces to withdraw from southern Lebanese territory, it is hereby announced that the Strait of Hormuz will be closed to vessel traffic,” it said in a statement. “It should be noted that this constitutes the first step in responding to the enemy’s breach of commitments. Should the aggression continue, further measures will be planned and implemented to compel the enemy to fulfill its obligations.”
An early response came from the U.S. Central Command, which said that it was continuing to operate “in the general area” of Hormuz “to support freedom of navigation.” They reported that commercial traffic rose on Saturday as 55 merchant ships had carried cargo and 17 million barrels of oil through the strait. It added: “US forces remain present and vigilant to ensure all aspects of the agreement with Iran are adhered to, obeyed, and in full force and effect.”
Later, Reuters quoted Centcom spokesperson Navy Captain Tim Hawkins to say: “Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz. Traffic continues to flow, and US forces are monitoring the situation to ensure this remains the case.”
