Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has declared the Strait of Hormuz closed to all vessels, including oil tankers and commercial ships, and has claimed to have struck two vessels said to be attempting to transit. The declaration was issued via the IRGC’s official Telegram channel and reported by CNN and various other publications, with the vessel strike claim attributed to the Mehr News Agency.  It follows a fresh round of US strikes on Iranian targets late on 10 June, the latest deterioration of a ceasefire signed in April.

It is important to read this as a contested position rather than an established fact. US Central Command has publicly disputed the closure, stating that commercial vessels continue to transit the waterway, and US officials have asserted that traffic is still crossing. At the time of writing, the identity and flag of the two vessels Iran claims to have struck have not been independently confirmed. Recent days have also seen reported attacks on the tanker Settebello on 9 June, with three seafarers missing, and on the product tanker Marivex on 8 June, whose crew were rescued by the Omani Navy.

For Members, the practical position is largely unchanged. Whether or not the declared closure holds in fact, the Strait remains a high-risk waterway and the considerations already set out in the joint industry guidance continue to apply: voyage-specific threat and risk assessment, confirmation of the scope and conditions of insurance cover before committing a vessel to transit, and close attention to the sanctions and payment exposures arising in the current operating environment. We will continue to monitor the position and update this page as the situation develops.