Strait of Hormuz blocked as gaps remain on Iran peace talks

[WASHINGTON / ISLAMABAD] Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was at a standstill on Sunday (Apr 19) after Iran reasserted control over the strategic waterway that is key to global energy supply, days before a fragile ceasefire with the United States was set to expire.

Iran’s top negotiator said recent talks with the US had made progress, while US President Donald Trump cited “very good conversations” with Teheran.

But neither side offered any specifics and Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said the two sides remained far apart on nuclear issues and the Strait of Hormuz, the two main sticking points.

On Saturday, Iran, which had earlier announced it would allow shipping to pass through Hormuz, reversed course, accusing Washington of violating a ceasefire agreement by maintaining its own blockade of Iranian ports.

Shut again

After two Indian-registered ships reported being attacked on Saturday while trying to pass through the strait, shipping data showed traffic through the narrow waterway had come to a stop early on Sunday.

One China-owned tanker and an Indian-owned gas carrier were seen transiting eastbound early on Sunday morning. But they appear to have been turned back, and no other vessels entered or left the Gulf after midnight GMT, according to MarineTraffic vessel-tracking data.

Now in its eighth week, the war has created the most severe shock to global energy supplies in history, sending oil prices surging because of the de facto closure of the strait, which before the war carried one-fifth of the world’s oil shipments.

Meanwhile uncertainty surrounded Pakistani-brokered efforts to end the conflict, which has killed thousands since it began on Feb 28 with a wave of US and Israeli airstrikes against Iran and which has spread to Lebanon.

Talks in Islamabad – the first direct negotiations between the US and Iran in decades – ended with no agreement last week but preparations appeared to be under way for a resumption, ahead of the expected end to the ceasefire on Wednesday.

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Rolls of barbed wire could be seen near the Serena Hotel where last week’s talks were held. The hotel told guests on Sunday they would need to leave due to a government event, a hotel representative said, adding that no reservations were being taken until further notice.

In central Islamabad, there was a heavy police and army presence, but the security protocols did not appear to be at the same level as they were before the first round, when Vice-President JD Vance led the US delegation.

IIran, Trump cite progress in talks

Pressure for a way out of the war has mounted on Trump as his fellow Republicans prepare to defend narrow majorities in Congress in the November midterm elections, with US petroleum prices high, inflation rising and his own approval ratings down.

Trump, who met senior national security aides at the White House on Saturday, said the US was having “very good conversations”, but gave no other details. He later went to the Trump National Golf Club with top envoy Steve Witkoff, one of his Iran negotiators.

Iran’s chief negotiator, Qalibaf, told state media that the talks in Islamabad had made progress but he added: “There is still a big distance between us”.

“There are some issues on which we insist... They also have red lines. But these issues could be just one or two.”

On Friday, Iran had announced the temporary reopening of the Strait of Hormuz following a separate US-brokered 10-day ceasefire agreement on Thursday between Israel and Lebanon to end fighting between Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hizbollah.

But it changed course on Saturday, after accusing the US of violating the ceasefire through a blockade on Iranian ports.

A statement from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said Iran’s navy was ready to inflict “new bitter defeats” on its enemies.

Trump, who called the Iranian move “blackmail”, defended the US blockade and threatened “to start dropping bombs again” unless the countries reached a long-term deal before the ceasefire expires on Wednesday.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said Teheran’s control over the strait included demanding the payment of costs related to security, safety and environmental protection services, state media said.

Vessels report gunfire

Following Iran’s reimposition of control on Saturday, at least two vessels reported being attacked while trying to transit the waterway. India summoned the Iranian ambassador in New Delhi and expressed deep concern that two Indian-flagged ships had come under fire in the strait, the government said.

US Central Command said American forces were enforcing a maritime blockade of Iran but did not comment on the latest Iranian actions.

Teheran’s reversal raised the risk that oil and gas shipments through the strait could remain disrupted just as Trump weighs whether to extend the ceasefire.

When American and Iranian negotiators met last weekend in Islamabad, the US proposed a 20-year suspension of all Iranian nuclear activity, while Iran suggested a halt of three to five years, according to people familiar with the proposals.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said no date had been set for the next round of negotiations, adding that a framework of understanding must be agreed first.

On Friday, oil prices fell about 10 per cent and global stocks jumped on the prospect of marine traffic resuming through the strait. But hundreds of vessels and about 20,000 seafarers remain stranded in the Gulf awaiting passage through the waterway, shipping sources said. REUTERS