The Iranians have linked the status of the Strait of Hormuz to a real ceasefire in Lebanon, through the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding. “If Israel’s crimes in Lebanon continue and Lebanon’s territorial integrity is not guaranteed, no negotiations on other issues will take place,” a source close to the Iranian negotiating team told Tasnim on Sunday. “As explicitly stated in Clause 13 (of the MOU), failure by the United States to fulfill its commitment under Clause 1 means that Clause 5 will also not be implemented, and this means that the Strait of Hormuz will not be reopened,” the source added.
U.S. officials disputed that the strait was closed, but commercially available shipping data showed an immediate impact, reported Reuters on Saturday. Only a single small tanker crossed the waterway with its location-signalling transponders on after Iran’s announcement, compared with dozens of ships in recent days when traffic had begun returning to pre-war levels