The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage of water linking two larger bodies, remains blocked, Iran says. Shipping traffic through the channel has fallen to near three-month lows. The Persian Strait Gulf Authority stated the waterway "will not be reopened until Iran's conditions are accepted," a direct challenge to claims by U.S. President Donald Trump.
What "blocked" actually means
A blockage of a strait, in shipping terms, means vessels cannot transit. They can wait for the passage to clear, or they can reroute. Neither option is cheap, and neither is fast.
The Persian Strait Gulf Authority's statement laid out the closure's terms simply: the strait stays shut until Iran gets what it wants. The authority did not identify what Iran's conditions are. That gap matters because it makes the timeline for reopening impossible to estimate from the outside.
Iran's dispute with Trump
Trump had made claims about the strait's status that implied it was open or on a path to reopening. Iran rejected that account. The authority used specific language: "remains blocked" is present tense, and the word "remains" signals that the closure is ongoing rather than new.
When two governments give incompatible accounts of a physical waterway, the practical problem falls on anyone who has to make a routing decision. The traffic data offers one signal about which account vessels are actually acting on.
What the traffic numbers show
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has dropped to near three-month lows, meaning vessel movements sit at roughly their lowest level in about a quarter. The source does not break down the traffic decline by vessel type, cargo category, or flag.
The Persian Strait Gulf Authority has set one stated condition for reopening: Iran's demands must be accepted first. No timeline for meeting those demands is given.