Strait of Hormuz 'closed until further notice', says Iran
Due to attacks by the United States, the Strait of Hormuz "will remain closed until further notice", said this Thursday (11) the new Iranian authority responsible for the strait.
"Due to tensions created by US aggressor forces in the region and the announcement made by the Iranian Armed Forces last night, the Strait of Hormuz will be closed until further notice," declared the PGSA (Persian Gulf Strait Authority), created last month to oversee a new transit protocol in the waterway.
The authority added that "applicants who have received a transit permit should be patient and await further guidance from the PGSA."
After the US launched new attacks against Iran on Wednesday (10), the IRGC (Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) stated that the strait will now be "closed to all vessels".
US Central Command disputed the Iranian claim, saying commercial ships continue to transit the strait - which the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps denied.
Tehran had previously insisted that the waterway was open, but only to ships that coordinated passage with Iranian authorities. Washington has warned ship operators not to cooperate with the PGSA (Iran Port Authority).
The important waterway has been blocked for months due to the war, with visible traffic through the strait estimated at just 15% of pre-war levels, according to JPMorgan.
Second night of attacks
The United States and Iran exchanged airstrikes on Thursday, and President Donald Trump threatened more attacks if Tehran did not immediately agree to a peace deal, but Iranian sources said negotiations on a preliminary agreement had intensified.
Three Iranian sources and a European official said the US and Iran were exchanging messages on the details of a memorandum after reaching a political understanding, but some issues still needed to be discussed in detail, including a mechanism for releasing billions of dollars in frozen Iranian funds.
"This war, from a military point of view, is a dead end. The Americans would not be able to achieve their objectives by attacking Iran. There has been progress in negotiations," said one of the Iranian sources.
Trump has repeatedly said a deal is close, but U.S. officials did not immediately comment on the current status of indirect negotiations.
American bases under attack: In Jordan, Americans were warned to take shelter. The IRGC said it had "destroyed facilities and a large number of combat aircraft" at Al-Azraq air base, according to state media. Kuwait has closed its airspace and anti-aircraft defenses are engaged with "hostile objects", state media reported, citing the country's army. Sirens sounded in Bahrain, according to the country's Interior Ministry.
Understand why the US cannot protect the Strait of Hormuz
Source: CNN