Iran Fires on Tanker Hours After Trump Announces Strait of Hormuz is Open

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Iranian gunboats fired on an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump announced the Strait was open and would never be closed again.

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.

But on Saturday morning, minutes before Trump went live for a bill signing, News broke that the Iranians were firing on an oil tanker, and the U.S. was enforcing its blockade. From The Associated Press:

CAIRO (AP) — The dueling blockades in the Strait of Hormuz lurched into uncharted waters on Saturday. The United States pressed ahead with its campaign to choke off Iranian ports and Iran reversed an initial move to reopen the waterway, firing on a ship attempting to pass.

Confusion over the critical chokepoint threatened to deepen the energy crisis roiling the global economy and push the two countries toward renewed conflict, even as mediators expressed confidence a new deal was within reach.

Iran’s joint military command said on 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.

Two gunboats from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard opened fire on a tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said on Saturday. It reported the tanker and crew as safe, without identifying the vessel or its destination. TankerTrackers.com reported vessels were forced to turn around in the strait, including an Indian-flagged super tanker, after they were fired on by Iran.

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