Iran and the US look like at odds as as to if the Strait of Hormuz is definitely open again under the ceasefire agreement.
Yesterday, Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth told reporters that the Strait had reopened.
He added: ‘It’s time for the remaining of the world to step up and be sure that that stays open, after President Trump and the War Department brought Iran to the place where they’re voluntarily opening it without delay, as was announced last night.’
Shortly after his remarks, reports from the Gulf showed that several vessels received messages from Iran’s navy saying that the Strait of Hormuz was still shut down.
‘Any vessel attempting to travel into the ocean … will probably be targeted and destroyed,’ the message said.
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How does Iran control the Strait of Hormuz?
A couple of aspects go into how Iran controls the vital waterway, where tankers must sail through Hormuz, a 60-mile-wide a part of the Persian Gulf, which has been at the guts of regional tensions for many years.
At its narrowest point, the Strait is just 24 miles across, making it easy for Iran to focus on vessels passing by without firing from a ship. As an alternative, they will fire anti-ship missiles from their coastline.
Together with the geography allowing Iran to exert control on the waterway, in addition they use unique methods of weaponry.
They’ve also laced the water with mines and use low cost drones to attack vessels that pass without permission.
The UN allows countries to exercise control of their territorial seas as much as 13.8 miles from their coastlines.
Some portions of the Strait lie entirely in Iran and Oman’s territorial waters, meaning they’re allowed to ‘defend’ their countries if needed.
Is the Strait of Hormuz open?
It will depend on who you ask.
Dr Bamo Nouri, senior lecturer in International Relations on the University of West London, told Metro that what’s happening with the Strait is contradictory, but each things are true without delay.
‘It’s technically ‘open’ but not freely operating. The US presents it as open to reassure markets, while Iran is effectively controlling access – allowing passage, but under conditions, monitoring, and implicit threats against non-compliant vessels,’ he explained.
‘Meaning shipping can move, but with heightened risk, reduced traffic, and rising costs. In practice, Iran doesn’t need to completely close the strait to exert leverage.
‘By making it uncertain, conditional, and potentially expensive, it might still disrupt global energy flows and signal its strategic power, which is why markets remain tense despite the ceasefire.’
How does the ceasefire agreement affect the Strait of Hormuz?
When Iran, Israel and the USA agreed on a two-week ceasefire, one in all the conditions all of them agreed on was the opening of the Strait of Hormuz for maritime traffic.
But Iran and the US appear to have differing definitions of what this implies.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) released the coordinates of where it indicates it has planted underwater explosives within the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran claims the map provides a secure corridor for oil tankers using the passage, where normally around 20% of the world’s oil passes day by day.
Donald Trump yesterday declared the passage was officially open, but it surely was closed again after just two tankers made it through.
Though the ceasefire requires the free reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, reports on Wednesday suggested Iran desired to put a toll of as much as $1 million on each ship.
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