Donald Trump hopes of extricating himself from his war on Iran were dealt another blow on Saturday after Tehran closed the strait of Hormuz again after the president said the US would not end its blockade of Iranian ports.
Earlier, Trump said in a social media post: “The naval blockade will remain in full force and effect as it pertains to Iran, only, until such time as our transaction with Iran is 100% complete,” adding that “this process should go very quickly”.
On Saturday, Tehran reversed course on opening the waterway vital to oil shipments, and a UK maritime agency reported that Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) ships had fired at a tanker as it attempted to pass through the strait on Saturday. Reuters reported separately that an Indian-flagged vessel carrying crude oil had also been attacked while in the waterway.
Trump reportedly convened a White House Situation Room meeting on Saturday morning to discuss the renewed crisis around the strait of Hormuz and negotiations with Iran, according to reporting from Axios. A senior US official said that unless there is a breakthrough in peace talks, it appears that the war could reopen within days.
It marks a swift turnaround from the previous day. In a barrage of social media posts, Donald Trump claimed on Friday that Iran had agreed never to close the strategic waterway again, hailing “A GREAT AND BRILLIANT DAY FOR THE WORLD!”
He later said that “President Xi is very happy that the strait of Hormuz is open and/or rapidly opening”, and suggested it augured well for their upcoming summit in China.
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Trump announces reforms to accelerate access to psychedelic drug treatments
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ICE deported 174 Daca recipients through most of last year, agency head says in letter
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What else happened today:
Catching up? Here’s what happened on 17 April 2026.
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