Iran Keeps Strait of Hormuz Closed Despite Ceasefire Reports
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps maintains the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, demanding the United States fulfill commitments from a June memorandum of understanding.
Conflicting reports emerged regarding the status of the Strait of Hormuz as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) declared the waterway will remain closed. While the Russian news agency RIA Novosti initially reported that the United States and Iran had reached a ceasefire agreement ensuring free navigation, the IRGC countered this on Wednesday, stating the strait will not reopen until Washington fulfills its commitments under a 14-point memorandum of understanding signed in Islamabad in mid-June.
IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohibi asserted that the waterway is under Iranian control and that hostile military vessels have been pushed at least 400 kilometers away. He warned that the strait will remain closed if the United States continues to obstruct the process. The Islamabad memorandum, brokered by Pakistan and Qatar, was intended to end hostilities and lift a U.S. naval blockade, but Tehran claims the U.S. has failed to implement key provisions.
Amid the standoff, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi announced that Tehran and Oman have agreed on a temporary seven-mile-wide transit route. This limited arrangement does not constitute a full reopening. Additionally, Iran and Oman have reached agreements concerning the demarcation of their shares of the waterway and the distribution of transit revenues.
