Iran Declares Strait Of Hormuz Closed After The United States Resumes Attacks On Iran.

Tehran; July 2026: A couple of moments ago today (Sunday – 12th July 2026), Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has closed the Strait of Hormuz after firing a warning shot at a vessel attempting to use an unauthorized route to cross the waterway, the IRGC’s Navy arm announced early Sunday morning local time.

In an official statement carried by the Arabic-language website of the semi-official, IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency, the IRGC decried what it referred to as “outside interference from foreign powers” in the form of several shipping vessels attempting to cross the Strait via unauthorized routes. The statement singled out a recent incident in which the IRGC fired warning shots at one such vessel.

“Given the precariousness that was caused by this unlawful interference by outside parties, the Strait of Hormuz is to be closed until further notice and until regional interference by the US ceases. No vessel or naval craft will be allowed to pass”.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center reported an incident which caused a fire onboard and damaged a container ship east of Oman. It is not known whether this is the same ship the IRGC struck.

On the other side, US President Donald Trump had indicated on Friday (10th July 2026) that the US and Iran were set to continue their truce talks even as the US launched strikes despite the ceasefire.

At 04:30 hours (IST) today, U.S. Central Command forces began launching the third round of strikes this week against Iran after Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces blatantly attacked M/V GFS Galaxy, a Cyprus-flagged container ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz. A civilian crew member is missing and the vessel is unable to continue the journey due to an onboard fire and significant engine room damage. The IRGC claimed that the vessel had been crossing the strait through an unauthorized route.

Iran was provided yet another opportunity to demonstrate adherence to the Memorandum of Understanding after being held accountable for earlier attacks on commercial vessels but has again failed. In response, the United States is imposing a heavy cost by continuing to degrade Iran’s ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the strait. The strikes are being carried out at the direction of the Commander in Chief.

As it has been always happened that during the US-Iran war, the Strait of Hormuz remained in sharp focus. The critical waterway is at the crux of a diplomatic push to get talks back on track after the two sides exchanged strikes earlier this week, shattering an uneasy ceasefire. The strait, through which much of the world’s oil flows, was a key focus of meetings yesterday (Saturday – 11th July 2026) between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Omani counterpart. Oman has drafted a tentative proposal to manage traffic in the strait through two separately controlled routes, as per Iranian official sources.

While the details remain to be seen, US officials had made clear on Friday (10th July) that talks with Iran can’t progress until ships are assured safe passage in the channel.

• Exchange of threats: A purported statement from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has still not appeared publicly since his father and predecessor was killed by US-Israeli strikes, was released by Iranian media yesterday (11th July) with Khamenei saying “revenge is the demand of our nation and must certainly be carried out”. That came after Trump issued his own renewed threats, including a vow that the US would “decimate” Iran if its leadership attempted to assassinate him.

• Mediators making calls: The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, which has been a key intermediary during US-Iran talks, held a call and expressed “deep concern” about the recent strikes. Meanwhile, the foreign minister of Qatar — another mediator central to the effort — held separate calls with his Jordanian and Emirati counterparts Saturday, according to Qatar.

Team Maverick.