Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has announced that no vessels, regardless of their flag, are allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz while the US maintains its blockade of Iranian ports. Any attempting to approach the waterway will be targeted, it said.
On Friday, Tehran initially declared the waterway completely open for commercial vessels for the remaining period of the ten-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, prompting a drop in oil prices on hopes of de-escalation. However, while US President Donald Trump praised the news, he said that the US blockade of Iranian ports “will remain in full force” until a peace deal is reached.
This violated the ceasefire conditions, prompting Tehran to reimpose restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz, according to the IRGC.
At least three vessels have been attacked while attempting to pass the key freight corridor, according to Axios. India has summoned the Iranian ambassador to protest attacks on two Indian-flagged vessels, and to urge it to resume letting New Delhi’s ships through.
According to multiple media reports, the US has presented several demands to Iran, including the handing over of its enriched uranium stockpile. While Trump claimed that Tehran had “agreed to everything,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei reiterated that the Islamic Republic would not give up the stockpile, which he described as “as sacred as Iranian soil.”
Key developments:
• Trump has suggested that he would not extend the ceasefire with Iran and could resume attacks if the peace talks do not produce the desired result by Wednesday.
• One French peacekeeper has been killed, and three others injured in southern Lebanon, President Emmanuel Macron has said, adding that Hezbollah was the most likely culprit. Hezbollah has denied involvement.
• At least three commercial ships have been attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, with at least one sustaining some damage, according to Axios.
• India has summoned the Iranian ambassador in New Delhi to raise concerns about attacks on two Indian-flagged vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, and to urge Tehran to let friendly ships through.
• Hezbollah said it is “not concerned” with Lebanon’s talks with the US, suggesting that Beirut is set to cave in to Washington’s demands. Israel insists the current truce does not apply to “immediate threats from terrorists.”
Follow our live coverage below for continuous updates. You can also read our previous updates here.
18 April 2026
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said the country would not send any enriched uranium to the United States, adding that the issue is non-negotiable.
“Multiple messages have been exchanged between Iran and the United States, but [the U.S.] insists on demands that Tehran considers excessive,” the diplomat said, as cited by Al Jazeera.
Iran has retained about 40% of its prewar drone arsenal – enough to threaten shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, The New York Times reported, citing U.S. intelligence and military estimates.
The report also said Iran has restored its missile launcher arsenal to about 60% of its prewar level.
CENTCOM has published a photograph of an American destroyer participating in the US naval blockade of Iranian ports.
“The blockade has completely halted economic trade going into and out of Iran by sea,” it claimed.
Israeli forces have carried out shelling and large-scale bombings of at least four settlements in southern Lebanon, which Iran had demanded be covered by its ceasefire with the US, Lebanese state broadcaster NNA has reported.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has slammed Western interventions in Iraq, Libya, as well as the Israeli wars against Gaza and Lebanon, arguing that they were launched under false pretenses.
“The invasion of Iraq was a lie. Where are the chemical weapons that Saddam Hussein supposedly had? They were never found,” he said in a speech.
“And now the bombing of Israel against Lebanon – on what pretext? And now the invasion by the United States against Iran – on what pretext?”
If there is “no breakthrough” in the indirect Iran-US negotiations soon, “the war could resume in the coming days,” Axios has reported, citing a senior American official.
Currently, the tense ceasefire struck between the sides last week is set to expire on Wednesday.
Iran will sue over the US- and Israeli-inflicted damage to several historical sites and monuments in the Islamic Republic, IRNA has reported, citing Isfahan Province Governor Mehdi Jamali Nejad.
“Experts have spent several days in Isfahan, and we have compiled and submitted the necessary documentation” to international organizations, he reportedly said.
At least 131 Iranian cultural heritage sites have been damaged by US-Israeli bombings since February, Hassan Fartousi, Secretary General of Iran’s National Commission for UNESCO has told RT.
There is no easy way to estimate the cost of the damage to the priceless sites, some of which are up to 400-600 years old, Fartousi said. Even if a site is restored, “it cannot keep its originality anymore.”
“It is a catastrophic situation, horrible, that unfortunately we couldn't protect and preserve the cultural heritage sites in our world.”
Tehran will not allow for vessels to pass the Strait of Hormuz if Iranian cargoes cannot, Iranian parliamentary speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a video statement.
“The Strait of Hormuz is under the control of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said.
“The Americans have declared a blockade for several days, this is a foolish and ignorant decision. It is impossible for others to pass through the Strait of Hormuz but for us not to be able to.”
Hawkish Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has called for Washington to take control of the Strait of Hormuz, continue the US blockade of Iranian ports and to “put Kharg island in the crosshairs.”
“The US and others must demonstrate the ability to control the Strait without Iranian interference,” he wrote on X.
“I urge President Trump to continue the blockade, which has been brilliantly executed and applies maximum pressure.”
No ships will be allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and any vessels attempting to approach it will be targeted, the IRGC has warned in a statement cited by Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB.
“Due to the violation of the ceasefire conditions, the American enemy did not lift the naval blockade of Iranian vessels and ports; therefore, from this afternoon, the Strait of Hormuz will be closed until this blockade is lifted,” it said.
All European leaders now understand the need to distance themselves from Trump and his wars, Brussels-based political risk analyst and veteran war correspondent Elijah Magnier told RT.
“It’s a specific position of the US allies saying: ‘We do not want to participate in the US-Israeli war, because, first, it is not ours, we were not consulted, we don’t want to have anything to do with it,’” he said.
“European leaders today understand the necessity to keep a distance from the US, and that their interests actually do not lie next to a president like Donald Trump.”
US CENTCOM has posted a photo of a soldier overlooking a tanker, touting the ongoing naval blockade of Iran’s ports.
Tehran is not ready to renew talks with Washington due to its “maximalist” demands, with a key point of contention being uranium, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh has told the Associated Press on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Türkiye.
“I can tell you that no enriched material is going to be shipped to the US,” Khatibzadeh said. “This is non-starter and I can assure you that while we are ready to address any concerns that we do have, we’re not going to accept things that are non-starters.”
Trump has claimed that Washington will get “all Nuclear dust” free of charge.
The US Navy is preparing to board and seize commercial ships seen as Iran-linked in the coming days, as part of Trump’s naval blockade around the Islamic Republic, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
According to the newspaper, the move could also target so-called “dark fleet” vessels in other parts of the globe. The US and its NATO allies have taken to sticking this label on ships that are insured outside Western-dominated agencies.
The Strait of Hormuz “is under full IRGC control and effectively closed at this moment,” Fox News has reported, citing a regional intelligence official.
“Multiple vessels have been forced to turn around since this morning as they attempted to pass through the Strait,” the official reportedly said.
Hezbollah has denied any connection to the attack that killed one French UNIFIL peacekeeper and injured three more.
Certain parties made accusations against the group “hastily and without relying on the results of the investigation,” Hezbollah’s information center said in a statement cited by Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.
Cooperation between UNIFIL, the Lebanese army and the local civilian population maintains stability in southern Lebanon, the group said.
Last month, at least three Indonesian members of the UN peacekeeping mission were killed during Israel’s invasion of southern Lebanon.
India has summoned Iran’s Ambassador in New Delhi to raise concerns over shooting incidents involving two Indian-flagged vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, the Indian Foreign Ministry says in a statement.
Foreign Minister S.Jaishankar “noted the importance that India attached to the safety of merchant shipping and mariners and recalled that Iran had earlier facilitated the safe passage of several ships bound for India,” the statement says.
New Delhi has also urged Tehran to “resume at the earliest the process of facilitating India-bound ships across the Strait.”
The TankerTrackers website has released a purported sound clip of the Indian oil tanker Sanmar Herald coming under attack from IRGC forces.
“Sepah [IRGC] Navy! Motor Tanker Sanmar Herald! Sanmar Herald! Sepah Navy! You gave me clearance! You gave me clearance to go!” the sailor pleads. “My name second on your list! You gave me clearance to go! You are firing now! Let me turn back!”
According to UK Maritime Trade Operations, at least two tankers attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz have now been attacked.
The US has failed to destroy Iran’s missile-building capabilities, Senior Iranian commander Brigadier General Mohammad-Reza Naghdi has said.
If Washington attacks the Islamic Republic again, “we will launch missiles with serial numbers and dates from April and March,” he said in a televised appearance.
Iran “got a little cute” by reimposing their blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, Trump has said.
“They got a little cute, as they have been doing for 47 years and nobody ever took them on,” he told reporters in the White House. “We took them on. They have no navy. They have no air force. They have no leaders. They have no nothing.”
Iran’s response to Trump’s “worthless tweets” will be on the battlefield, Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref says.
“Our response, is not in words, but in the ‘glory of the field’,” he warns, claiming that Iran has broken the US blockade in the Strait of Hormuz and doubled or tripled its oil exports.
The Iranian Navy is broadcasting a radio message to ships in the Strait of Hormuz, warning them that the key waterway is again closed, according to Reuters.
“Attention all ships, regarding the failure of the US government to fulfill its commitment in the negotiation, Iran declares the Strait of Hormuz completely closed again. No vessel of any type or nationality is allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz,” the radio message reportedly says.
Russia stands ready to assist Iran in moving its enriched uranium stockpile out of the country, Aleksey Likhachev, CEO of Russian state nuclear firm Rosatom has said.
“Rosatom is ready to assist with the removal of uranium from Iran and is closely monitoring the US-Iranian negotiations,” he told the industry newspaper ‘Strana Rosatom.’
Moscow has repeatedly offered to help in the past, while the US has pushed to take the material for itself.
Tehran is estimated to have over 400kg of uranium enriched to 60% in its stockpiles, according to IAEA chief Rafael Grossi. Weapons-grade uranium is typically enriched to 90%.
Azizi claimed that Iran scored a “great achievement” by forcing the US to evacuate personnel from its Gulf bases. "America’s prestige has been broken. For years, the Americans promised the countries of the region that they would provide security… In the end, they could not even secure their own security, and they fled,” he said.
The US must accept that the Strait of Hormuz is “not a place for bullying, nor a place for arrogance,” Ebrahim Azizi, Chairman of Iran’s National Security Commission, has warned, urging Washington to “show courtesy, show respect, and then present its requests.”
At least three commercial ships have been attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, with at least one sustaining some damage, an unnamed US official told Axios. The report claimed that one of the attacked ships had received permission to enter the chokepoint.
Hezbollah is “not concerned with the negotiations being conducted” by Lebanon, which is essentially set on caving in to the US, Mahmoud Qomati, deputy head of Hezbollah’s political council, has told a press conference in Beirut.
The American Navy has turned away a total of 23 ships under the blockade of Iranian ports and coast, US Central Command has said.
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has confirmed the death of a French servicemember, adding that of the three others injured, two have received grave wounds.
It said that the incident occurred as a UNIFIL patrol was clearing explosives along a road in the village of Ghanduriyah, more than 20km from the Israeli border, but they came under “small-arms fire from non-state-actors.”
One French soldier was killed and three others wounded during an attack in Lebanon, President Emmanuel Macron has said.
“Everything suggests that responsibility for this attack lies with Hezbollah,” he said, demanding that the Lebanese authorities arrest the perpetrators.
Trump has taken a swipe at Spain, one of the EU’s most vocal critics of US actions against Iran. “Has anybody looked at how badly the country of Spain is doing. Their financial numbers, despite contributing almost nothing to NATO and their military defense, are absolutely horrendous,” he charged on Truth Social.
Mahmoud Qomati, deputy head of Hezbollah’s political council, has praised Iran for its efforts to establish a ceasefire in Lebanon while lambasting the Lebanese government over what he described as “moving towards humiliation, disgrace, and the destruction of sovereignty.”
He singled out Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who he said “thanked the [US] killer and criminal but did not thank Iran” for the truce.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations claims that two Iranian gunboats fired on an unnamed tanker in the middle of the Strait of Hormuz, with no injuries reported.
Egypt and Pakistan are pushing “very hard” for the US and Iran to reach a final agreement, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has said, adding that he hopes a peace deal will be achieved “in the coming days.”
The IDF has reported several incidents of ceasefire violation in Lebanon, accusing “terrorists” – who it said pose an “immediate threat” – of approaching the Israeli-mandated Yellow Line in the southern part of the country.
“Following their identification, and in order to remove the threat, the Israeli Air Force, together with ground forces, conducted precise strikes against the terrorists,” the statement read.
The IDF insisted that the attack was in self-defense, stressing that actions aimed at removing immediate threats are not restricted by the ceasefire.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh has said that Trump’s messaging over the Strait of Hormuz has been “kind of confusing.” He added, as cited by CNN, that the current ceasefire could be extended only “if the other side just accepts negotiat[ing] on equal footing and just puts aside [its] maximalist position.”
Ebrahim Azizi, Chairman of Iran’s National Security Commission, has said that Tehran had warned the US over the consequences of the continued blockade, mockingly adding that Washington could “now ENJOY the Strait of Hormuz returning to the status quo.”
The IDF will impose a ‘yellow line’ in Lebanon and bar people from areas occupied by the Israeli military, CNN reports, citing officials.
According to the report, the IDF “is authorized to continue destroying terrorist infrastructures there even during the ceasefire.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has insisted that it was Tehran that closed the Strait of Hormuz, arguing that the US “made safe and secure maritime traffic through the waterway impossible.”
He added that Iran has every right to restrict passage due to the threat to national security.
Iranian authorities have reopened six airports, including Mehrabad, Imam Khomeini, Mashhad, Birjand, Gorgan, and Zahedan airports, the country’s Airline Association has said.
At least five more Iran-linked tankers are passing through the Strait of Hormuz despite the US blockade, Fars News agency has reported, citing tracking data.
While Iran allowed “a limited number of oil tankers and commercial vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz in a managed manner,” the US violated its part of the agreement and now “continues its piracy and maritime theft under the pretext of a so-called ‘siege,’” a spokesman for the Iranian military has said.
“For this reason, control over the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state, and this strategic strait is under the strict management and control of the Armed Forces,” he said, adding that the regime would be maintained as long as the US upholds the blockade of Iranian ports.