Iran says Hormuz closed for shipping to and from ‘enemy’ ports

People walk near Iranian missiles in a park in Tehran on Thursday.

Photo: West Asia News Agency via Reuters Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Friday that they had turned back three ships trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz, adding the route was closed to vessels travelling to and from ports “belonging to allies and supporters of the Zionist-American enemies”. “This morning, following the lies of the corrupt US president claiming that the Strait of Hormuz was open, three container ships of different nationalities … were turned back after a warning from the IRGC Navy,” the Guards said on their Sepah News website. “The movement of any vessel ‘to and from’ ports of origin belonging to allies and supporters of the Zionist-American enemies, to any destination and through any corridor, is prohibited,” it added.

The Guards also urged civilians across the Middle East to stay away from areas near US forces, ramping up its threats despite President Donald Trump’s claim talks to end the month-long war were “going well”.

The Guards’ warning came after Trump again extended a deadline for Tehran to open the Strait of Hormuz or face the destruction of its energy assets, pushing it from Friday to April 6.

Trump said he did so at Tehran’s request, insisting the Islamic Republic wanted “to make a deal” to end the war engulfing the region since the United States and Israel first attacked Iran on February 28.

But the Iranian side, which has made it clear it wants to end fighting on its own terms, indicated no let-up in reprisal attacks against Israel and targets across the Gulf.

Accusing “cowardly American-Zionist forces” of resorting to “human shields”, the country’s powerful Guards issued a stark warning to civilians. “We recommend that you urgently leave locations where American forces are stationed so that no harm comes to you,” they said – hours after Iran’s military threatened to target hotels housing US soldiers across the region.

The warning came as Kuwait said its main commercial port was damaged in a drone attack at dawn.

Oil prices and stocks were mixed on Friday after Trump pushed back for a second time his ultimatum for Iran to lift its choke on Hormuz shipping, which has sent energy prices soaring and threatens lasting damage on the global economy.

In the latest sign of the fallout, a Japanese official said the government plans to temporarily lift restrictions on coal-fired power plants to face the energy crunch, while Vietnam temporarily waived a f

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