Hormuz shipping stalls after Iran boards and seizes cargo vessels

Iran has now brought Strait of Hormuz traffic close to a standstill after firing on three ships and taking control of two of them on Wednesday, pushing a tense ceasefire fight into a shipping crisis with global costs.

The attacks came one day after Trump extended the ceasefire while keeping the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports in place.

Iranian media said the Revolutionary Guard was moving the two captured vessels into Iran, while the White House said the detentions did not break the ceasefire because the ships were international vessels, not American or Israeli ones.

That clash is now squeezing one of the world’s most important energy routes. Nearly 20% of traded oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz in normal times, but the current standoff between the U.S. and Iran has choked off almost all exports moving through it.

Brent crude climbed above $100 a barrel multiple times, up about 35% from prewar levels. Gas prices have jumped far beyond the Gulf, and the cost of food and other basic goods is rising too. Even so, stock markets have mostly kept their cool.

Iran blames the blockade and Israeli attacks for keeping the strait shut

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s chief negotiator in talks with the U.S., said it is “not possible” for the Strait of Hormuz to reopen because of what he called “the blatant violations of the ceasefire” by the U.S. and Israel.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Ghalibaf said those violations include the American naval blockade on Iranian ports, which he said had taken the global economy “hostage,” as well as Israeli “warmongering” “on all fronts.”

Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s president, said Iran still wants talks, but he said “breach of commitments, blockade and threats are main obstacles to genuine negotiations.” In another post on X, Pezeshkian said Iran has “welcomed dialogue and agreement” with the U.S., then accused Trump’s administration of undercutting that path.

He wrote, “The world sees your endless hypocritical rhetoric and contradiction between claims and actions.” Early Tuesday, it looked like new peace talks between the U.S. and Iran would be held in Pakistan this week, but they still have not started.

The shipping fight is already hitting consumers and businesses. Dan Jørgensen, the European Union’s energy commissioner, warned that the damage could last and compared the disruption to other major energy shocks from the past fifty years. He said Europe is losing around 500 million euros, or about $600 million, every day because of the crisis.

Trump defends the port blockade and demands Iran hand over enriched uranium

In an interview with Fox News, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports has been “massively effective” and is “inflicting maximum leverage and economic pressure” on Iran.

Asked whether Trump sees Iran’s seizure of the two ships as a ceasefire violation, Karoline said, “No, because these were not U.S. ships. These were not Israeli ships. These were two international vessels.”

Karoline also said Trump wants Iran to give up its enriched uranium. She said, “They must turn over the enriched uranium that’s in their possession.

While it is very far into the ground, thanks to the success of Operation Midnight Hammer, it’s important to the president that they hand that enriched uranium over. He’s made that quite clear to them.” Operation Midnight Hammer was the U.S. military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities last June. Karoline said the administration is “waiting to hear back from the Iranian regime” on where negotiations stand.

Trump told Fox News there is “no time pressure” on the ceasefire or on talks with Iran, and “no time frame” for when the war could end. He said, “People say I want to get it over because of the midterms, not true.”

He also said the blockade has hit Iran’s leaders harder than airstrikes. “The blockade scares them even more than the bombing,” Trump said. “They’ve been bombed for years but the blockade they hate.”

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