Iran’s top ​joint military ‌command ⁠said on Saturday (June 20, 2026) that the Strait of ‌Hormuz would be ‌closed to ‌vessel ⁠traffic, ⁠citing alleged violations of a ceasefire agreement ​by ‌the U.S. and Israel, Iran’s Mehr state news ‌agency reported.

West Asia war LIVE updates – June 20, 2026

“It is hereby announced that the Strait of Hormuz will be closed to vessel traffic,” Khatam al-Anbiya Central ​Headquarters said in a statement. It cited a U.S. “breach of contract” and “the Zionist regime’s continuous and relentless violation of the ceasefire in southern Lebanon”.

It ​said that the closure ⁠was the “first step” in ‌response to what it described as breaches of commitments and ‌warned that further measures ​would be taken if “aggression” ⁠continued.

The strait, an important conduit for oil and gas shipments, was blockaded by Iran for much of the war, sending shockwaves through global energy markets.

Iran had agreed to reopen it under the preliminary agreement with the US, and shipping traffic was starting to pick back up in recent days.

Follow-up talks on the U.S.-Iran deal had been planned in Switzerland on Friday (June 19), but were indefinitely postponed as Israel launched a wave of deadly strikes in Lebanon after four of its soldiers were killed in combat.

On Friday afternoon 9June 29, 2026), a U.S. official announced a new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah brokered by U.S. and Qatari mediators, with Israel’s ambassador to Washington saying it would respect the truce if Hezbollah did.

But on Saturday (June 20, 2026), an Israeli military official said it was conducting fresh attacks against the Iran-backed movement, which it accused of having “launched more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon” overnight.

Hezbollah said Israel had carried out “under the cover of the ceasefire… an infiltration attempt towards the Ali Taher hills”, a strategic feature overlooking the city of Nabatieh, adding its fighters “confronted them with appropriate weapons”.

With AFP, Reuters inputs

In the negotiations that began on Saturday (April 11, 2026) in Pakistan, a key U.S. demand from Iran will be free passage—both unrestricted and cost-free—for merchant ships through the Strait of Hormuz. Although Iran has often threatened to control the strait and use it as leverage, including during the Iran-Iraq war, this is the first time the issue has been formally raised at the international negotiating table.

Iran has floated the idea of levying tolls to fund post-war reconstruction. However, tolls are typically charged only in artificial waterways such as the Suez Canal and Panama Canal—not in natural maritime chokepoints. Naturally occurring straits such as Malacca, Bosphorus and Dardanelles, Bab-el-Mandab, the Baltic Strait, and Gibraltar have traditionally allowed free passage.