No commercial vessels have crossed the Strait of Hormuz while broadcasting their location since Sunday evening, according to new data.
Some ships may have passed through with their transmitters off. Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) said that transit through the vital shipping route “is not currently possible” due to “illegal movements of the United States military forces in the region”.
Eight commercial vessels, including tankers, bulk carriers and cargo vessels, crossed the strait on Sunday – down from 21 on Saturday and 14 on Friday, according to preliminary data from maritime intelligence firm Kpler.
Two of the ships broadcast their positions during the transit, and both had crossed before the PGSA made its announcement. Six others recorded by Kpler were dark, meaning they did not broadcast their position.
In comparison, an average of 138 ships passed through the waterway each day prior to the conflict, according to the Joint Maritime Information Centre.
The IRGC has declared the waterway closed after it struck a vessel it said was travelling on an unapproved route. However, Donald Trump has insisted the strait remains open to commercial traffic.
Follow the latest developments here.
The Strait of Hormuz blockage comes a week after Iran launched attacks on three commercial vessels that were crossing the shipping corridor close to Oman.
The US launched a wave of attacks on Tehran in response, sparking retaliatory action by Iran on American military bases across the Gulf.
The attacks have led to a standstill in traffic as a result, raising fresh concerns about the impact on the global economy and oil supply.
A memorandum of understanding agreed between the US and Iran said that Tehran would ensure “its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge for 60 days”.
It added that Iran would “conduct dialogue with the Sultanate of Oman to define the future administration and maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz”.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps released a statement on Thursday saying that “foreign powers have no claim to this land or to the Strait of Hormuz” after the passage threatened its leverage.
Nato chief Mark Rutte has thrown his support behind Donald Trump’s decision to resume strikes.
“When you have a ceasefire and Iran is basically violating the ceasefire, I think it is totally crucial that the US forcefully react,” Mr Rutte told reporters at the Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey, this week.
French president Emmanuel Macron also backed the strikes, saying that he believed Iranian attacks on US bases in the Gulf violated the interim peace deal and that Iran had been mistaken to carry them out, according to Reuters.
But the French leader said he understood that meetings as part of a 60-day ceasefire between the two sides would continue.
US Central Command defended the strikes, saying that Iran’s “demonstrated aggression was unwarranted, dangerous and a clear violation of the ceasefire”, referring to the three tankers, including a Qatari vessel, that were hit in the strait.
