Relations between Iran and the United States continued to unravel over the weekend, resulting in a fresh exchange of airstrikes, as the two governments publicly disagree about whether the Strait of Hormuz is open or closed.
The debate comes after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) struck a Cyprus-flagged container ship moving through the vital passageway on July 11, setting it ablaze and leaving 23 crew members stranded and one missing.
The IRGC said in a statement carried by the state broadcaster IRIB that same day that its forces had struck the vessel because it had switched off its tracking systems and endangered maritime security. It claimed that it had fired a warning shot at the vessel, but that it did not change course.
The IRGC then announced that the Strait of Hormuz was once again closed to maritime traffic.
The U.S. military responded by launching a significant missile assault on Iranian military targets overnight into Sunday. CENTCOM said in a statement that it had struck about 140 sites, targeting “missile and drone sites, naval capabilities, ammunition storage facilities, communication networks, and coastal surveillance locations.” According to Iranian state media, U.S. strikes also hit Qeshm, an island near the strait, though they targeted only military installations and caused no casualties.
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Iran then launched a flurry of retaliatory attacks on U.S.-allied Persian Gulf states on Sunday, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, and Oman.
Reopening the strait was a key tenet of the memorandum of understanding signed by both Iran and the U.S. in June. The passage is vital to the global supply of oil and natural gas, and economies around the globe experienced energy crises and oil shortages when it was first closed in response to U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Feb. 28.
But Iran has continued to launch missiles at vessels as they are progressing through it via a route off the coast of Oman, a navigational effort largely understood to help avoid Iran’s more heavily militarized routes. The Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), a governing body that Iran created, said last month that all vessels must submit transit requests and receive permits.
“The consequences of traveling on unauthorized routes will be the responsibility of the owner, operator, and commander of the vessel,” the PGSA warned.
Iran has also mentioned plans to charge fees for passing ships—though Trump has called the proposal “unacceptable,” insisting that such conditions would not be part of any peace deal acceptable to the U.S.
Washington and Tehran remain at odds about whether the body of water is open as of Sunday.
U.S. CENTCOM said: “The Strait of Hormuz is open to all vessels seeking to lawfully transit the international waterway.”
“Iran does not control the strait,” CENTCOM’s statement continued. “Traffic is flowing.”
Trump reiterated the sentiment in a Sunday interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, saying that, as far as he was concerned, the strait was open.
But Iranian officials tell a different story.
The PGSA said on X Sunday that “passage through the Strait of Hormuz is currently not possible,” blaming “recent illegal movements of the United States military forces.”
“As soon as stability and calm are restored, all requests will be reviewed based on the schedule, and the necessary permits will be issued,” the authority said.
According to Windward Maritime Intelligence, there were 21 commercial vessel transits through the strait on July 11, which is significantly lower than the 140 transits per day recorded prior to wartime closures.
While Trump declared on social media on July 10 that the ceasefire was already “over,” there is still a lot of ground to cover in terms of potentially negotiating an end to the war. But the dispute about the strait is poised to become a pivotal blocker as the U.S. and Iran approach the halfway point of the original 60-day agreement to halt hostilities and pursue a more lasting peace deal.
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