The Strait of Hormuz exists in a state of both openness and closedness until a ship actually attempts the transit.
US Senator Lindsey Graham has summarized the situation succinctly by tweeting “the guy in the suit (Araghchi) is not in charge. It’s the guys with the guns (the IRGC) who are in charge.”
Unfortunately, the US has been negotiating with the guys in the suits.
Uncertainty over talks, Trump insists deal to come ‘quickly’
- Iran says it has no plans to send negotiators to Pakistan for a new round of talks after the United States seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
- Still, President Donald Trump says US team, led by Vice President JD Vance, is on its way to Islamabad,
- Pakistan tightens security in the capital before the possible talks, locking down parts of the city and deploying 20,000 security personnel.
- In Lebanon, the 10-day ceasefire with Israel holds despite repeated Israeli attacks, as the US says second round of talks between Israel and Lebanon will be held in Washington on Thursday.
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Iran pulls out of peace talks due to ‘Washington’s excessive demands and the ongoing naval blockade’
The Islamic Republic is using these negotiations to buy time in order to regroup and fight again more effectively. As such, the mullahs need them more than Trump does. On the other hand, they know that his threats have proven empty before, and thus that they have some time to regroup even without making any concessions to the Great Satan.
“Iran pulls out of US peace talks and takes swipe at Donald Trump,” by Rebecca Robinson, Express, April 19, 2026:
Iran has reportedly rejected the second round of peace talks with the US they day before they were due to go ahead. The state IRNA news agency reported Tehran’s absence is due to “Washington’s excessive demands, unrealistic expectations, constant shifts in stance, repeated contradictions, and the ongoing naval blockade”.
Xi Urges Immediate Opening Of Hormuz Strait For First Time, In Call With Saudi Crown Prince
Calls for comprehensive ceasefire…
Yemen’s Houthis threaten to close Bab al-Mandeb Strait, claim ‘no force will be able to open it’
It was only a matter of time. The Houthis should have been dealt with during the Biden administration when they were tying up Red Sea shipments and creating a nightmare for the world economy. But Biden was weak and a global laughing stock. Now, the Trump administration is left to deal with the fallout.
President Donald Trump said Sunday the U.S. “stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom” of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship before seizing the vessel — marking the first known use of force under Washington’s naval blockade as Tehran threatens retaliation and critical ceasefire talks hang in the balance.
In a Truth Social post Sunday afternoon, Trump said the U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance intercepted the vessel, identified as the Touska, in the Gulf of Oman after it attempted to breach the blockade, adding that “U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel” and are “seeing what’s on board.”
Video released Sunday evening by U.S. Central Command confirmed the encounter, showing repeated warnings issued over several hours, including an audio command ordering, “Vacate your engine room… we are prepared to subject you to disabling fire,” before the destroyer fired into the vessel’s engine compartment.
CENTCOM said the Touska was warned multiple times over a six-hour period while sailing toward Iran’s Bandar Abbas port before U.S. forces disabled its propulsion using the destroyer’s 5-inch MK 45 gun, after which Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit boarded and secured the vessel, which remains in U.S. custody.
Iran reopens airports in capital Tehran
Iran has reopened the Imam Khomeini and Mehrabad airports in the capital, Tehran, after weeks of war with the US and Israel had brought air traffic to a halt.
According to the ISNA news agency, the Civil Aviation Organisation will also give the greenlight to reopen the airports of Urmia, Kermanshah, Abadan, Shiraz, Kerman, Rasht, Yazd, Zahedan, Gorgan and Birjand from Saturday.