Iran reversed its reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and fired on vessels amid the US blockade of Iranian ports.
Attacks on ships threaten global oil supplies, with the waterway handling about one-fifth of world crude.
India summoned Iran’s envoy after firing on India-flagged ships, as ceasefire uncertainty deepens tensions.
Iran Reimposes Hormuz Curbs, Fires on Passing Ships
Iranian Revolutionary Guards action escalates standoff over Strait of Hormuz
Summary
In retaliation for the United States' continued blockade of Iranian ports, Iran reversed its reopening of the vital waterway and opened fire on passing ships on Saturday, escalating the confrontation over the Strait of Hormuz once more.
New attacks on the strait, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil normally passes, threatened to deepen the global energy crisis and push the countries into renewed conflict as the war entered its eighth week.
By Wednesday, their fragile ceasefire is scheduled to expire. Iran stated that Pakistani mediators were attempting to set up another round of direct talks and that it had received fresh proposals from the United States.
"Control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state ... under strict management and control of the armed forces," according to Iran's joint military command. It threatened to continue blocking transits as long as the U.S. blockade was in place.
As per AP, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operation centre said, without naming the vessels, that Revolutionary Guard gunboats opened fire on a tanker passing through the strait and that an unidentified bullet struck a container ship, injuring part of the containers. TankerTrackers.com said two Indian-flagged vessels, including a supertanker carrying Iraqi oil, were forced to turn around after being fired on by Iran.
Inputs from AP
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