The U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz led to its closure by Iranian officials, contradicting President Trump's assertion that it had been permanently reopened.

“And, just like that, President Donald J. Trump’s triumphant boasting that the Strait of Hormuz had been permanently reopened has unraveled in less than 24 hours. … Once again, Trump’s announcement of the opening of the strait seemed timed to give the markets a bounce before the weekend." ~ Heather Cox Richardson #Trump #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #markets #StockMarket #MarketManipulation #InsiderTrading #media /1 https://open.substack.com/.../heathercoxr.../p/april-18-2026

Letters From an American, real-time history by Heather Cox Richardson https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/april-18-2026 > And, just like that, President Donald J. Trump’s triumphant boasting that the Strait of Hormuz had been permanently reopened has unraveled in less than 24 hours. Citing the continuing U.S. blockade, Iranian officials announced they were closing the strait again. Reports say Iranian forces fired on two ships trying to cross the strait. Iranian media said: “Until the United States ends its interference with the full freedom of movement for vessels traveling to and from Iran, the status of the Strait of Hormuz will remain under intense control and in its previous state.” ...Susannah George of the Washington Post noted that the fragile temporary ceasefire between Israel and the government of Lebanon also appears to be cracking. Israel has been bombing southern Lebanon where Iran-backed [armed members of leading regional political party Hezbollah] operate, and Israel Defense Forces said Saturday that it believed Hezbollah had violated that ceasefire. It said: “IDF is authorized to take the necessary measures in self-defense against threats, while ensuring the security of Israeli civilians and the soldiers deployed in the area.” ...This morning, Trump said Iran wanted “to close up the strait again, you know, as they’ve been doing for years, and they can’t blackmail us.” In fact, the strait was open until Trump began to bomb Iran on February 28. Trump’s choice of the word “blackmail” is interesting in this context, for there have been no public threats of exposing someone’s secrets or threatening harm to them in association with the crisis in Iran... #rebellion #uprising #resistance #sovereignty #legitimacy #colonialism #extortion #imperialism