After burying late leader, Iran declares Srait of Hormuz shut, setting up likely confrontation with US

Iran on Sunday said it closed the Strait of Hormuz after a vessel traveled on an unapproved route and was struck, warning that any retaliation over the incident would be met with a “severe response.”

“A vessel that had jeopardized maritime security by switching off its systems was struck and brought ‌to a halt,” the Navy of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement, without giving any details about the ship.

The statement said several ships attempted to move through the waterway on an “unauthorised route” and disregarded warnings to correct their course.

The strait, the IRGC said, was closed “until further notice” and until “the end of U.S. interference in this region.”

Acts of aggression against Iran “will be met with a severe response, and new enemy bases in the region will be targeted,” the Navy said.

The United States is demanding that Iran publicly state it will stop attacks on ships in the strait — and that all lanes will be open with no tolls through the waterway, senior U.S. officials told reporters on Friday.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday the U.S. and Iran had agreed to continue talks despite an escalation ⁠of hostilities this week, while also declaring an end to the ceasefire.

A senior Iranian source told Reuters that Iran, the U.S., Qatar and Pakistan had agreed to negotiate in a call that mediators were trying to arrange for Saturday while Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi was in Oman.

It was not immediately clear whether the efforts were successful. Araqchi and Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi met in Oman to exchange “views on appropriate mechanisms for the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz,” according to a statement from the Iranian foreign minister.