Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps announces the closure of the Strait of Hormuz

Deep Tide TechFlow message: On July 12, according to Xinhua News Agency, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy announced in the early hours of the 12th that the Strait of Hormuz would be closed effective immediately, and that no vessels may pass through.

In a prior statement, Iran said that any acts by foreign forces to interfere in the Strait of Hormuz and to illegally designate routes for vessel passage would trigger Iran’s “firm and decisive response.” Given that foreign forces’ illegal intervention has created an unsafe situation, the Strait of Hormuz will be closed effective immediately until further notice and until the United States stops interfering in the region. A few hours earlier, several vessels attempted to sail along routes that had not been approved by Iran, ignoring Iran’s prompts and warnings about adjusting course. One vessel shut down its automatic identification system; it was hit by Iran’s warning shots and stopped sailing. Iran warned that if the U.S. uses this incident as a pretext to launch new attacks on Iran, Iran will respond forcefully, targeting more U.S. bases in the Middle East.