Iran Shuts Strait of Hormuz, Strikes Ship After US Ultimatum

Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz and struck a Cypriot-flagged vessel on Saturday after President Trump's 24-hour ultimatum expired, triggering the heaviest U.S. airstrikes since the ceasefire took effect in May. The IRGC said it launched cruise missiles at the ship following a warning. U.S. Central Command said it destroyed missile sites and naval infrastructure across southern Iran.

Iran’s Armed Forces launched coordinated missile and drone strikes against U.S. military facilities in Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman, the IRGC said in a statement. The group claimed it hit the Al Udeid air base in Qatar and the logistics hub at Duqm Port in Oman, which services U.S. aircraft carriers. Two commercial vessels in the strait were struck, one of which is sinking, according to shipping data from HFI Research.

The escalation upends a fragile truce that had kept oil flowing through the waterway, which handles about a fifth of the world's crude supply. Iran’s closure effectively shuts tanker traffic less than two months after the memorandum of understanding was signed. Two very large crude carriers managed to pass through before the strait closed again, HFI Research said. The inbound flow remains well short of what is needed to stabilize production.

Brandon Weichert, a defense analyst, said the speed of the U.S. response indicated preparations for something larger. “I really think the United States is getting ready to do something very drastic,” he said in a video posted Saturday. “This is going to get nasty.” Malcolm Nance, a former U.S. Navy intelligence specialist, said the conflict had moved beyond intermittent strikes. “We are back in a state of war,” he told the same outlet. “It is not tit-for-tat air strikes. The tempo is growing.” The U.S. carried out over 140 airstrikes on Iran, according to military analyst account AMK Mapping.

Iran rejected any suggestion it had sought to reopen negotiations. An Iranian political source told Tasnim that decisions on the strait’s management belong to Iran and Oman under Article 5 of the Islamabad Memorandum. Qatar is present only as a mediator, the source said. A senior Iranian official told Drop Site News that diplomacy was continuing only at the mediators’ insistence because the U.S. wants a path for Trump to withdraw. The official said Iran will not allow the existing monitoring mechanisms to be bypassed. The same official said the gap between Tehran’s position and U.S. demands remains wide.

Qatar said three people, including a child, were injured by falling debris from missile interception. U.S. strikes hit five cities in Bushehr province, including areas near the Bushehr nuclear power plant, Iranian state media reported. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) died Saturday after a brief sudden illness, his office said. Graham had visited Ukraine’s front lines the day before.

Oil markets, closed for the weekend, face a surge in risk premiums when trading opens Monday. Tanker owners are likely to run without AIS transponders to avoid detection. Transit risk remains extreme. Lloyd’s of London syndicates are expected to raise war-risk premiums for the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, shipping sources said. A sustained spike in oil prices would cut into consumer spending, a drag on Apple (AAPL) and other big tech names, Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a note Sunday.

Qatari negotiators are in Tehran while Omani officials draft a Hormuz shipping plan. If both tracks align, Washington may get a face-saving off-ramp, the senior Iranian official said. An IRGC statement called the U.S. strikes a test that Iran had met with a decisive response. The group threatened harsher retaliation for any further action.

The Strait of Hormuz remains closed. The IRGC said it had destroyed fighter-jet maintenance facilities at Al Udeid and fueling platforms at Duqm. No U.S. military response to those claims was reported by early Sunday. Trading in crude futures is set to resume at 6 p.m. New York time Sunday.