Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed as Iran maintains shipping restrictions

Only four vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz in a single day, according to vessel tracking data from Kpler, in a sign that the world's most critical oil chokepoint remains effectively closed to traffic, Tasnim News Agency reported on April 27.

The Iranian state-affiliated outlet said the figure showed the strategic waterway continued to be blocked at Iran's discretion.

The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, normally handles around 20% of global oil supplies and a substantial share of seaborne liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade. Tanker movements through the Strait have collapsed since the outbreak of the US-Iran war on February 28 2026.

Iran has retained operational control over Strait transits in the post-ceasefire period despite the formal cessation of hostilities under the agreement signed on April 7. Iranian officials have linked the future status of the waterway to wider negotiations on regional security architecture and the legal framework governing Strait passage.

Iranian senior political adviser Mohammad Javad Larijani told Fars News Agency on April 26 that the Strait of Hormuz was a domestic Iranian matter and that any future arrangement should be developed in cooperation with Oman through what he described as a "new legal system."

He said American warships should be barred from entering the Persian Gulf.

A three-stage Iranian negotiating framework reported by Lebanese broadcaster Al Mayadeen on April 27 places the Strait of Hormuz in the second phase of any future talks with Washington, after the formal end of the conflict and ahead of any discussion of Iran's nuclear programme.

Continued restriction of Strait traffic has fed into elevated freight and insurance costs across the wider region. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Iraq all rely on Strait transit for the bulk of their hydrocarbon exports, and disruption has cascaded into global crude and product markets, food and grain trade, and container shipping schedules.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in St Petersburg on April 27 for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin focused on the state of negotiations with the United States and other matters relating to the wider Middle East crisis, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.