IRGC threatens to target ships attempting to cross Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned that any vessel attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz will be treated as a target.

The development comes less than 24 hours after Iran had announced the reopening of the route for commercial traffic, reports Al Jazeera.

In a statement carried out by the Iranian Students News Agency on Saturday (April 18), the IRGC’s naval wing said the strait would remain closed until the United States lifts its naval blockade on Iranian ships and ports.

The statement instructed all vessels anchored in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman to remain stationary.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of Iran’s Parliament and a key figure in Tehran-Washington talks, said in a televised interview that the Strait of Hormuz remains under Iran’s control, dismissing US actions as “ignorant decisions.”

The reversal comes just hours after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had declared the waterway “fully open to all commercial vessels,” a move that briefly eased global oil prices.

Before the latest announcement, more than a dozen commercial ships had already transited the strait, underscoring the rapid shifting situation in one of the world’s most critical energy corridors.