Overview
- President Donald Trump publicly said the United States “fully controls” the Strait of Hormuz and warned of strikes if Iran tries to change that control, while U.S. forces have continued to enforce a naval blockade.
- U.S. Central Command said a Navy MH-60 fired Hellfire missiles to disable the steering of a Panama-flagged ship that ignored warnings while trying to reach an Iranian port, and CENTCOM reports it has redirected about 55 commercial vessels since the blockade began.
- Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei told diplomats that the strait will remain closed until Washington ends the war, lifts the naval blockade, releases frozen Iranian assets, and agrees to a region-wide ceasefire.
- Diplomats from Oman, Qatar and Pakistan say talks have advanced on limited transit routes through the strait, but Tehran says any bilateral routing deal would not reopen Hormuz without U.S. concessions.
- Maritime violence is widening: a Houthi strike in the Bab el-Mandeb killed six people, markets pushed oil prices higher, and shippers are rerouting and paying higher costs as Gulf states pursue pipeline and port alternatives.