There actually is NO published media straight answer on what is going on in the Strait of Hormuz….
One side says it IS Closed….
The other side NO….
Outside media reports that some ships HAVE been thru the strait everyday…
Again….
There ARE TWO Iran political power centers right now….
The civilian and military ….
Will the cease-fire be extended?
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps on Saturday declared it was closing the Strait of Hormuz, the nation’s state media said, shortly after two Indian-flagged ships reported coming under fire while they were trying to pass through.
Just a day before, the Iranian foreign minister said it was reopened, according to state media. President Trump also said the strait was open but left in place an American blockade on ships from Iranian ports. That seemed to raise the ire of the Guards, who said Saturday the strait would remain closed until the U.S. lifted its blockade.
The back and forth added to the fear and confusion looming over a narrow waterway that has become the central focus in the effort to end the war.
On Saturday, India summoned the Iranian ambassador about what it called “a serious incident” involving two Indian-flagged ships that were fired on. TankerTrackers.com, a company that monitors oil shipments, said two Indian-flagged vessels sailing through the strait had turned around.
A shipping monitor run by the British Navy, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, said it had received a report that one tanker had come under fire from two Iranian gunships. Another vessel, a container ship, was hit by an “unknown projectile,” it said.
According to data from Kpler, a global ship-tracking firm, 17 vessels crossed the strait on Saturday before Iran declared it closed and 10 crossed on Friday.
The secretariat of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said in a statement the government “is currently reviewing” new proposals submitted by the United States through Pakistan, which hosted peace talks last weekend.
Late Saturday evening, in a speech on state media, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran’s Parliament, portrayed the cease-fire as a victory for his country and emphasized its “control over the Strait.”
Hopes for an end to the war were boosted by a 10-day cease-fire in Lebanon that went into effect Friday.
Thousands of displaced families began making their way back home, and there was heavy traffic again Saturday as people continued to head to Lebanon’s south.
Iran had demanded the truce with the United States extend to Lebanon as a condition for a broader deal.
Here’s what else we are covering:
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Hezbollah: The head of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, said Saturday it was willing to cooperate with the Lebanese authorities to end the war with Israel and laid out a series of conditions for a lasting truce. The armed group, backed by Iran, said a truce would require a withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon. That is a tall order, given that Israel has said its forces would remain in an area that stretches more than six miles into Lebanese territory.
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Peacekeeper killed: A U.N. peacekeeper was killed in Lebanon on Saturday, according to President Emmanuel Macron of France, who suggested Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group, was responsible. Hezbollah denied involvement. Read more ›
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Energy crisis: Even if the Strait of Hormuz opened fully, it would take weeks for oil and gas prices to recover. Read more
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Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) will blockade the strait of Hormuz again as of today, the IRGC warned in a statement published by semi-official news agency Tasnim News. “Approaching the strait of Hormuz will be considered cooperation with the enemy, and any offending vessel will be targeted,” the IRGC statement said.
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Donald Trump 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.
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Following initial talks between the US and Iran last weekend in Pakistan, the Iranian deputy foreign minister, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said a second date cannot be set until both sides “have agreed on the framework”.
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Iran’s supreme national security council, the country’s highest decision-making body under the supreme leader, said it is reviewing “new proposals” put forward by the US, according to Iranian media.
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Hezbollah has denied it was involved in the deadly attack against UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, which killed a French soldier. A UN peacekeeper was killed and three others were injured after a patrol came under attack from “non-state actors”, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon said.
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The Israeli military killed two Unicef-contracted truck drivers at a water point in the northern Gaza strip, forcing the UN agency to suspend its operations in the area, Unicef said.
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Pope Leo XIV said that it is “not in my interest at all” to debate Trumpabout the Iran war, but that he would continue preaching the Gospel message of peace.
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Trump left the White House Saturday afternoon to play golf, despite Iran’s re-closure of the strait of Hormuz in response to the US blockade of Iranian ports.
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A new Politico poll finds support for military action in Iran is weak — just 38 percent of Americans back the strikes — and views remain largely unchanged from the days following the joint U.S.-Israel strikes, even as the administration has now had weeks to make its case.
A majority of respondents say the war is not in the interests of the American people, and a plurality are still not confident that the president has clear objectives — including a notable chunk of his 2024 supporters.”
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“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is wreaking havoc on Israel’s standing with Americans as the Iran war supercharges a deterioration in relations with the U.S.,” Axiosreports.
“Israel’s polling collapse among younger Americans is hitting Congress, too. Lawmakers who started out staunchly pro-Israel are becoming increasingly vocal critics.”
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