TEHRAN – Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said on Saturday that any attempt by the enemy to disrupt vessel passage or impose a naval blockade through the Strait of Hormuz would be considered a violation of the ceasefire, vowing that Tehran would prevent the conditional opening of the strategic waterway as long as such threats persist.
In a sweeping statement issued on Saturday, the council’s secretariat declared that Iran is determined to maintain monitoring and control over traffic through the Strait of Hormuz “until the definitive end of the war and the realization of lasting peace in the region.”
The announcement marked a significant hardening of Iran’s position just one day after Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the strait had been reopened to commercial vessels following the implementation of a ceasefire in Lebanon.
The Supreme National Security Council said that one of
 the essential preconditions for Iran’s acceptance of a temporary ceasefire had been a halt to fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon. After Iran’s insistence, the council said, the Zionist regime agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon.
It was then decided, the council said, that “provided the enemy observes the ceasefire on all fronts, the Strait of Hormuz would be conditionally opened temporarily until the end of the ceasefire period, solely for the passage of commercial vessels – not military vessels or civilian vessels of hostile nations – under the control and permission of Iran’s armed forces and along routes designated by Iran.”
However, the council added: “As long as the enemy intends to disrupt the passage of vessels or implement methods such as naval blockade, the Islamic Republic of Iran considers it a violation of the ceasefire and will prevent the conditional and limited opening of the Strait of Hormuz.”
The council noted that the majority of U.S. military base supplies in the Persian Gulf region are provided through vessel passage via the Strait of Hormuz, stating that “this constitutes a threat to the national security of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Persian Gulf region.”
“Iran is determined to apply monitoring and control over traffic through the Strait of Hormuz until the definitive end of the war and the realization of lasting peace in the region,” the statement said.
The council said this control would be implemented by obtaining complete information about passing vessels, issuing passage certificates in accordance with Iran’s announced regulations commensurate with wartime conditions, and collecting fees related to security, safety, and environmental protection services, along routes announced by Iran.
The spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said Iran reasserted control over the Strait of Hormuz due to U.S. acts of “piracy”.
Lieutenant-Colonel Ebrahim Zolfaghari said Iran had agreed to a managed passage of a limited number of oil tankers and commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz in line with previous agreements and with good faith during negotiations.
However, the Americans, with their track record of repeated breaches of faith, continue to engage in banditry and piracy under the guise of a so-called blockade.
“For this reason, control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state, and this strategic strait is under the intense management and control of the armed forces,” the spokesperson stated.
Zolfaghari said as long as the United States does not fully end the disruption to the free passage of vessels originating from Iran to their destinations and from destinations back to Iran, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz will remain under severe control and will stay in its previous state.
On Friday, Foreign Minister Araghchi announced the reopening of the strait following the implementation of a ceasefire in Lebanon as part of a 10-point proposal it had forwarded prior to Trump’s announcement.
Reacting to the announcement, Trump took to his Truth Social platform, alleging that Iran had “agreed to never close the Strait of Hormuz again.”
He also claimed that the United States’ “naval blockade will remain in full force and effect as it pertains to Iran, only, until such time as our transaction with Iran is 100% complete.”
Iran has categorically refuted Trump’s claims, asserting that the strait was only open to commercial vessels, which would be allowed to transit through only a designated route and with Iran’s authorization.
The Supreme National Security Council said following the visit of the Pakistani army commander to Tehran as a mediator, new proposals have been put forward by the Americans, which Iran is currently reviewing.
“No response has yet been given to them,” the statement said.
The council emphasized that the Iranian negotiating delegation, backed by the support of the people, steel-like determination, and the firepower of the fighters, will not compromise, retreat, or show negligence “by a hairsbreadth.”
It said the delegation would defend with all its might the interests of the Iranian nation and honor the precious blood shed in the war, particularly “the pure blood of the leader dearer to us than our own lives.”
The current two-week ceasefire is set to expire on April 22. The first round of Iran-U.S. talks in Islamabad ended without agreement, with Tehran blaming excessive American demands.