Iran Declares Strait Back Under Its 'Strict Control'

So much for that announcement yesterday that it was "completely open."
By Heather — April 18, 2026

As MS Now's Ali Velshi explained:

VELSHI: If you're having trouble keeping up with what's up and what's down in the war with Iran, that's understandable. Iran has declared this morning that the Strait of Hormuz is back under its, quote, strict control. That is, until the United States ends its naval blockade of Iranian ports, according to a statement from the Iranian military, which is a complete reversal from yesterday when President Trump and Iran's foreign minister declared the Strait, quote, completely open.

All this as the two sides continue negotiations to end more than six weeks of war. President Trump, however, may not be ready to end the blockade.

And now we've got Iranian gunboats firing on a tanker:

Friday was a big news day, as Trump announced developments in the Iran War via a series of social media posts. In addition to a ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, the president said the Strait of Hormuz would be opening immediately, never to close again. As the news filtered out, media reports and Iranian sources contradicted some of Trump’s claims.

The president spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One Friday night just before landing, and began by saying he had just gotten “pretty good news” that he then refused to give any details about.

More on that from the AP article they quoted:

Iran’s joint military command said Saturday that “control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state ... under strict management and control of the armed forces.” It warned that it would continue to block transit through the strait as long as the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect.

Revolutionary Guard gunboats on Saturday opened fire on a tanker transiting the strait, and an unknown projectile hit a container vessel, damaging some of the containers, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said without identifying the vessels. TankerTrackers.com reported that two Indian-flagged vessels were forced to turn around after being fired on by Iran, including a supertanker carrying Iraqi oil.

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