Iran claims Strait of Hormuz closed after Trump deal, US denies

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Iran-US war latest: Tehran declares Strait of Hormuz is closed after Trump deal due to ‘ceasefire violations’

US military says traffic still flowing through Strait of Hormuz after Iran pledges to shut vital waterway

Iran has claimed that it will close the Strait of Hormuz to tankers, citing alleged violations of the ceasefire by the US and Israel, Tehran’s semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

However a spokesperson for the US military has said that traffic continues to flow through the critical waterway and the US is monitoring the situation to ensure that continues.

The top joint military command, ​Khatam al-Anbiya Central ‌Headquarters, said earlier on Saturday that the closure was the "first step" in response to what it described as breaches of commitments.

It warned further measures would be taken if the “aggression” continued. Earlier on Saturday, 16 were killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon.

US vice president JD Vance, however, has said there is not yet any evidence that Iran is closing the critical waterway, through which one fifth of the world’s oil supply typically flows.

⁠Central Command spokesperson ‌Navy Captain Tim Hawkins said the US were “monitoring the situation” to ensure that ships could pass.

US military denies that Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz

The US military has denied Iran's claims that it had closed the Strait of Hormuz, saying the critical waterway remained open.

⁠US Central Command spokesperson ‌Navy Captain Tim Hawkins told the news agency Reuters that US forces were “monitoring the situation” to ensure that ships could pass.

He said: “Traffic continues to ‌flow, and US forces are monitoring the situation to ensure this remains the ⁠case."

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps declared the Strait of Hormuz shut earlier on Saturday and warned ships not to approach the waterway, ‌casting new doubt ​on the future ‌of a ceasefire agreement ⁠between the US ⁠and Iran meant to pave ‌the way ​for in-depth peace ‌talks.

Holly Bancroft20 June 2026 18:15

Read Trump’s 14 point Iran peace deal in full after US announces signing of agreement

Nearly four months after the U.S. started its war with Iran, Donald Trump has signed a long-awaited deal to end the war, restore global shipping and resolve an abiding dispute over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Details of a 14 point plan were previously released by US officials, with an official signing ceremony expected to take place in Switzerland on Friday. However, it emerged on Wednesday evening that it had already been signed by the US president and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said any further Israeli attacks on Lebanon would be considered a breach of the terms of the deal. With Israel having continued its strikes on the country’s south, there remain concerns the deal could still fall apart.

James C Reynolds reports:

Read Trump’s 14 point Iran peace deal in full after US announces signing of agreement

Trump has said he will resume bombing after 60 days if talks on Iran’s nuclear programme do not progress

Maira Butt20 June 2026 17:58

Watch: Iran closes Strait of Hormuz over ‘ceasefire violations’ days after Trump deal

Maira Butt20 June 2026 17:20

Netanyahu will try and undermine Trump’s Iran peace plan despite president’s warnings: report

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will likely try to undermine Donald Trump’s deal with Iran, U.S. intelligence officials have reportedly warned the administration.

Current and former U.S. officials told The Washington Post Netanyahu is intent on continuing operations in Lebanon despite an agreement signed by President Trump earlier this week.

The Israeli leader is facing intense political pressure to continue the conflict, that has run in parallel to the joint attacks on Iran he launched alongside the United States in February.

Israel’s Netanyahu will try and undermine Trump’s fragile Iran peace plan: report

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon is already threatening to derail the deal Trump agreed this week

Maira Butt20 June 2026 16:50

Pakistan says follow-up talks between US and Iran set for June 21

Pakistan's foreign ministry has said on Saturday that follow-up technical-level talks between Iran and the US will be held in Bürgenstock, Switzerland, on 21 June.

It said US and Iranian representatives would participate, along with mediators from Pakistan and Qatar in order to continue discussions following a ceasefire deal signed this week.

It added in a post on X that Pakistan will continue to facilitate the process in its role as mediator as per previous negotiations.

Maira Butt20 June 2026 16:15

Watch: JD Vance sends warning to Israel as he defends Trump's Iran deal

Maira Butt20 June 2026 15:45

Trump lashed out at Vance telling him, ‘Everyone just needs to copy what I say’ on Iran, book reveals

President Donald Trump reportedly raged against Vice President JD Vance last year for not using the boss’s chosen line that American planes had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program.

“Trump vented to others that Vance hadn’t repeated his own new phrase that Iran’s nuclear program had been ‘totally obliterated,’” according to an excerpt obtained by Politico of the forthcoming Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, from New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.

After the June attack on Iran, Vance had mildly undercut Trump in an interview with ABC News.

Josh Marcus reports:

‘Copy what I say’: Trump slammed Vance over Iran, book claims

Trump reportedly fumed that Vance hadn’t backed up his claim that a U.S. attack on Iran had ‘obliterated’ the country’s nuclear program

Maira Butt20 June 2026 15:15

Israeli strikes kill five people including a child in Gaza

Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least five people, including a child, in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, health officials said.

Four Palestinians, including two women and a child, in an apartment building in Gaza City, were killed in the Israeli attack, health officials said.

The attack on the building in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City destroyed the apartment and wounded several other people, medics added.

In another incident, Israeli forces shot and killed a woman in Beit Lahiya town further north, said medics.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on either incident.

An October ceasefire may have halted major fighting between Hamas and Israel, but it has failed to end Israeli attacks.

Gaza's health ministry said more than 1,010 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire. Four Israeli soldiers were killed by militants in Gaza over the same period.

Maira Butt20 June 2026 15:01

US and Israel breached clause one of ceasefire deal, says Iran

We can bring you more on Iran’s claims that it will close the Strait of Hormuz.

The Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said the closure comes in response to the “explicit breach of the first clause of the post-war memorandum of understanding by the United States”.

It said it is also due to Israel’s “continuous and ongoing violations of the ceasefire in southern Lebanon”.

Here’s a reminder of what the first clause of the US-Iran MoU stipulated:

You can read the MoU in full here.

Alex Croft20 June 2026 14:42

Vance: No evidence Iran is closing Strait of Hormuz

We’ve just heard from US vice president JD Vance, who has responded to Iranian claims that they will close the Strait of Hormuz.

There is no evidence that such a closure is being carried out, Vance tells Fox News.

Tehran says it is closing the strait due to alleged violations of a ceasefire agreement agreed earlier this week.

Alex Croft20 June 2026 14:39