Iranian officials keep giving contrasting accounts about whether the Strait of Hormuz is open for vessels to go through as it keeps its chokehold on the key waterway, where about 20% of the global energy goes through.
Speaking to ITV, Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said the strait is open but vessels have to coordinate with the army due to the presence of sea mines.
"Anybody who communicates with the Iranian authority has got permission to pass," Khatibzadeh told the outlet.
Exclusive: Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister @SKhatibzadeh tells me for @itvnews the Strait of Hormuz is open to all civilian shipping and reports it is closed are wrong. However, due to mines as a consequence of the war, all vessels need to liaise with Iran to be guided along safe… pic.twitter.com/CEKkGHEaev
— Emma Murphy (@emmamurphyitv) April 9, 2026
The remarks stand in contrast with messages conveyed by Tehran to mediators on Wednesday, claiming that it would limit transit to a dozen ships a day and charge them fees.
The Wall Street Journal noted that the ships selected to go through the key waterway will need to coordinate with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Moreover, Iranian state media said on Wednesday afternoon that the strait was "fully closed" and some tankers had been taken away.
In the meantime, no tankers traversed the strait since the ceasefire was announced on Tuesday, The New York Times reported. Four bulk carriers did make it through.
Iranian officials said they went back to closing the waterway on Wednesday as a result of Israel's attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf, said the ceasefire with the U.S. has been violated in three different ways since its announcement and cast doubt on negotiations with Washington.
In a social media publication, Ghalibaf rejected remarks by Trump and U.S. officials, who said Iran's demands in private negotiations were different than those stated publicly.
He claimed that the 10 points outlined are indeed what it requires to end the war, and three of them have been violated.
The first one is an end to Israeli attacks in Lebanon, something Qalibaf said was included in the agreement announced by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The second point mentioned by Qalibaf is "the entry of an intruding drone into Iran airspace, which was destroyed in the city of Lar in Fars Province, in clear violation of the clause prohibiting any further violation of Iran airspace."
And the third one involved alleged demands by Tehran of the recognition of its right to continue enriching uranium, something rejected by other parties.
Ghalibaf also said on Thursday that "ceasefire violations carry explicit costs and STRONG responses."
