Strait of Hormuz: Iran reimposed restrictions as ceasefire clock ticks down
← Back to home

This article was generated by artificial intelligence and reviewed by Le Pivot's editorial team. We believe in transparency.

War in Iran AI Generated

Strait of Hormuz: Iran reimposed restrictions as ceasefire clock ticks down

By Le Pivot — Iran Monitor · April 17, 2026 · 10 min read

Share

April 18, 2026 marks a new threshold of volatility in the Iran crisis. In less than twenty-four hours, Tehran announced and then cancelled the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz — a sharp reversal that illustrates the absence of any stable diplomatic framework, as the two-week ceasefire signed on April 8 expires in three days.

The Strait of Hormuz about-face

On April 17, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared that the Strait of Hormuz was “fully open to all maritime traffic.” Oil markets responded immediately: crude prices fell 11% within hours, the most concrete signal of a possible thaw.

But Washington poured cold water on the optimism. President Donald Trump, while welcoming Iran’s announcement, clarified that the American blockade of Iranian ports “will remain in full force” until a peace agreement is signed. Iran responded by reimposing restrictions on April 18, with the joint military command stating that “control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state, under the strict management and control of the armed forces.” Tehran formally accuses Washington of “maritime piracy” and of failing to honour its commitments.

The situation has settled into a symmetrical double deadlock: each side demands the other act first.

The Islamabad failure and the race against time

On April 11 and 12, an American delegation led by Vice President JD Vance — accompanied by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner — held over twenty-one hours of negotiations in Islamabad with Iranian representatives, including Minister Araghchi and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Pakistani mediation was not enough: Vance left the capital without an agreement.

The principal sticking point: the duration of any suspension of uranium enrichment. The United States demanded twenty years; Iran proposed five. The gap was never bridged. Vance summarised the impasse: “We need to see an affirmative commitment that Iran will not seek a nuclear weapon, nor seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve one.”

Trump, for his part, claimed last Friday that Iran had “agreed to suspend its nuclear program indefinitely” — a declaration contradicted by official Iranian positions and by the absence of any signed memorandum. A second round of negotiations, potentially again in Pakistan, was under discussion for the weekend.

The ceasefire expires April 21. If no deal is reached or the truce is not extended, hostilities could resume within seventy-two hours.

Domestic repression continues amid the war

The war does not obscure the domestic political crisis. Since December 28, 2025, Iran has experienced its largest wave of protests since the 1979 Islamic Revolution: more than 200 cities have been affected, in the wake of a brutal depreciation of the rial, galloping inflation, and shortages linked to international sanctions and government mismanagement.

According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), 7,015 deaths were documented as of February 5 — including at least 6,508 protesters — with 11,744 additional cases under review. The UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution in January extending its fact-finding mission’s mandate and calling for an urgent investigation.

On the executions front, at least thirteen political activists have been executed since March 19, including six members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) and seven protesters convicted for activities related to the uprising.

Western sanctions accumulate

In response to the repression, the European Union adopted new sanctions in January and March 2026, targeting individuals and entities involved in crushing the protests, as well as supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine. The US Treasury, through Secretary Scott Bessent, also designated “architects of the crackdown” — while acknowledging that American sanctions had themselves contributed to the Iranian currency crisis that triggered the protests.

What to watch

April 18 concentrates the contradictions of the moment: an Iran trying to use the strait as a diplomatic lever, but trapped by its own escalation; a Trump administration claiming unconfirmed nuclear concessions; and a ceasefire holding by inertia more than conviction.

Three days separate the belligerents from April 21. The window for a second round of negotiations is closing. Without an agreement, the risks of military escalation, a lasting closure of the strait, and a global energy shock are again very real.

The Iranian crisis is entering its most critical phase since the conflict began.

Sources