US President Donald Trump has said Iran has “completely violated” an existing ceasefire by firing in the Strait of Hormuz, and noted that the attacks targeted a French ship and a British cargo ship.
In a post in Truth Social on 19 April, Trump also noted that U.S. representatives were travelling to Islamabad for talks scheduled to begin on 20 April.
Trump also said that Iran’s threat to close the strait is unnecessary as the US naval blockade of Iranian ports “has already closed it.”
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He urged Tehran to accept what he called a “very fair and reasonable deal”, warning that otherwise the US would strike Iranian infrastructure, particularly power plants and bridges.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the US naval blockade of Iranian ports was a violation of the ceasefire agreement and an “illegal and criminal” act.
“The so-called” blockade “of Iran’s ports or coast by the United States is not only a violation of the ceasefire agreement but also an illegal and criminal act,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqai said on social network X.
US President Donald Trump ordered a naval blockade of Iran after US-Iran peace talks in Islamabad on 11-12 April failed to produce an agreement to end the war.
The truce, which began on 8 April, expires on 22 April.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas is routed, has been effectively closed due to US-Israeli air attacks on Iran that began on 28 February and Tehran’s strikes on targets in the Middle East, including ships in the Persian Gulf.