Iran fully closes Strait of Hormuz and demands end to US blockade

Tankers anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Qeshm Island, Iran (Asghar Besharati/AP)

The standoff over the Strait of Hormuz escalated again on Saturday as Iran reversed its reopening of the crucial waterway and fired on ships attempting to pass, in retaliation after the United States pressed ahead with its blockade of Iranian ports.

The strait is closed until the US blockade is lifted, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard navy said on Saturday night, warning that “no vessel should make any movement from its anchorage in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, and approaching the Strait of Hormuz will be considered as co-operation with the enemy” and be targeted.