Iran shows off its control over strait after collapse of peace talks

Iran flaunted its tightened grip over the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday with video of its commandos storming a huge cargo ship, after the collapse of peace talks that Washington had hoped would open ​the world’s most important shipping corridor.

Iranian state television broadcast footage overnight of masked troops pulling up in a grey speedboat alongside the MSC Francesca, climbing a rope ladder to a shell door in the hull ‌and jumping through brandishing rifles.

The footage, presented with an action-movie-style soundtrack and no commentary, also included views of another ship, the Epaminondas. Iran said it had captured both on Wednesday, accusing them of trying to cross the Strait of Hormuz without permits.

U.S. BOARDS ANOTHER TANKER

Washington, which has been confronting Iranian ships in international waters to enforce a blockade of its own, said it had boarded another tanker, the Majestic, in the Indian Ocean on Thursday, an apparent reference to a supertanker last reported off the coast of Sri Lanka carrying 2 million barrels of crude.

Iran, which has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz to ​ships apart from its own since the United States and Israel launched the war in February, has been left in apparent control of the waterway since last-ditch peace talks were called off on Tuesday, hours before a two-week ceasefire expired.

In an early morning social media post, U.S. President Donald Trump said it was Washington that was in “total control” of the Strait of Hormuz , which he described as “‘Sealed up Tight,’ until such time as Iran is able to ​make a DEAL!!!”.

The U.S. blockade has not however halted Iran’s own use of the Strait of Hormuz , according to data analytics firm Vortexa, which said about 10.7 million barrels of Iranian crude exports had crossed it and left the area blockaded by the U.S. Navy between ​April 13 and 21.

The global economy is facing ever more tangible strains from the energy shock as factories grapple with soaring production costs and activity weakens even in services sectors, major surveys showed on Thursday.

Trump also said he had ordered the Navy to “shoot and kill” Iranian boats laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz , and step up demining activity, though he did not mention other means Iran has used to block shipping such as speedboats, missiles and drones.

Iran’s judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei said the merchant vessels Iran had seized had “faced the law”, while Iranian speedboats and marine drones were sheltering in sea ​caves off an island keeping the U.S. Navy from approaching.

The vice speaker of Iran’s parliament, Hamidreza Hajibabaei, said the first revenue from a toll Iran was now collecting from ships using the Strait of Hormuz had been transferred to the central bank. He gave no ​further details about who had paid it or how much.

‘NEITHER PEACE NOR WAR’

Tehran says it will not consider opening the Strait of Hormuz , normally the route for a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas, until the U.S. lifts its blockade of Iran’s shipping, which Washington imposed during ‌the ceasefire and ⁠Tehran calls a violation of that truce.

Trump cancelled threats to restart attacks on Iran in the ceasefire’s final hours on Tuesday, but refuses to lift the blockade. There has been no formal extension of the ceasefire, and no plans have been announced for further talks.

Iranians, who endured six weeks of U.S. and Israeli bombardment before the ceasefire on April 8, described a nerve-wracking environment under threat of renewed attack.

“In a situation that is neither peace nor war, things are somewhat frightening. At every moment, you think that Israel or the U.S. might launch an attack,” Arash, 35, a government employee in Tehran, told Reuters by phone.

Pakistan, which hosted talks this month and had been preparing for a second round before it was called off on Tuesday, was still in touch ​with both sides, a Pakistani government source said. Iranian officials were ​still declining to commit to attend over the U.S. ⁠blockade, the source added.

Talal Chaudhry, a junior interior minister, told Reuters security plans for talks were still in place and Pakistan was “fully prepared to host an event of this scale with confidence”.

The U.S. was separately due to host a second round of talks between Israel and Lebanon on Thursday, with Lebanon seeking an extension of a ceasefire reached last week in a war that ​has run in parallel to the Iran war.

Israeli strikes killed five people including a journalist in Lebanon on Wednesday, the deadliest day there since the U.S.-brokered truce took effect. Iran ​says maintaining the Lebanon ceasefire is ⁠a pre-condition for talks on the wider war.

U.S. NAVY SECRETARY FIRED

In the latest wartime shakeup at the Pentagon, John Phelan, a financier appointed by Trump as navy secretary, was ousted late on Wednesday. Two sources told Reuters he had been fired over disagreements around shipbuilding and bad relations with officials including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The stalemate in theStrait of Hormuz has whipsawed markets with mixed signals. With no clear path to resolve the energy disruption, oil prices are climbing again, but with fighting put on hold, share prices in some markets have zoomed higher.

On ⁠Thursday, shares were ​down in Japan, Hong Kong, Britain and Germany, but up in South Korea and France, while Wall Street hovered just a notch off all-time highs. ​Brent crude was up 0.76% at $102.68 a barrel.

So far, Washington has not achieved the aims Trump set out at the war’s start: to deprive Iran of the capability to attack its neighbours, end its nuclear programme and make it easier for its people to overthrow their government.

Iran has retained missiles and drones that ​can hit its neighbours, and a stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Its rulers, who killed thousands to put down a popular uprising in January, have faced no organised opposition since the war began.