Iranian Gunboats Open Fire On Tanker As Hormuz Closure Sparks Maritime Chaos

Summary: 

• Two Iranian gunboats Open Fire on a tanker near Oman
• Friday: Hormuz Open; Saturday: Hormuz Closed 

Iranian Forces Open Fire On Tanker 

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reports that a tanker was “approached by 2 IRGC gunboats, with no VHF challenge, and then fired upon.”

UKMTO did not provide any further details about the two Iranian vessels that fired on the tanker or the type of weapons used in the maritime incident, which was reported to have occurred 20 nautical miles northeast of Oman.

Assume that President Trump is about to become absolutely furious on Truth Social. One can also assume that backchanneling and behind-the-scenes talks are not going well if an incident like this occurred ahead of the U.S.-Iran weekend negotiations.

Hormuz Closed (Again) 

The Trump administration’s “baffle ’em with bullshit” methodology has been on full display, as the reopening of the Hormuz chokepoint on Friday drove a broad risk-on in markets: US equities soared, crude collapsed, and Treasury yields declined, based on the assumption that disruption to global energy flows had eased. However, as of early Saturday morning, those moves may prove premature.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the world’s most important maritime chokepoint is once again closed to commercial transit.

About 20 ships waiting to enter the Persian Gulf through the maritime chokepoint have turned back toward Oman after Iran’s military declared the waterway closed again, amid a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.

And rejected: the two tankers taking the neutral route, Minerva Evropi and Nissos Keros, have turned around; the Sanmar Herald which appears to be taking the Iran-sanctioned Larak island route is proceeding. https://t.co/aceBI7ki0B pic.twitter.com/gmkM37iA1U

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) April 18, 2026

The OSINT community on X is reporting a Hormuz closure as well… 

A bit of chaos in Hormuz this morning as nearly all of the outbound tankers have abruptly turned around.

Follows an announcement by Iranian military leadership that the Strait has “reverted to its previous state of strict military control.” pic.twitter.com/XSc6lvxwJo

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) April 18, 2026

MERCHANT VESSELS RECEIVE RADIO MESSAGE FROM IRANIAN NAVY SAYING STRAIT OF HORMUZ SHUT AGAIN, NO SHIPS ARE ALLOWED TO PASS THROUGH, SHIPPING SOURCES SAY

— *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) April 18, 2026

The vessels had reportedly been prepared to pay $2 million in tolls to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards to pass through, but radio warnings indicated the strait was closed.

WSJ notes:

They are now turning back because the Revolutionary Guards are sending radio messages that the strait is closed, according to one Hong Kong owner with a container ship waiting to transit the strait.

Overnight, Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, wrote on X that President Trump’s “false” claims won’t help in US-Iran negotiations…

1. The President of the United States made seven claims in one hour, all seven of which were false.
2. They did not win the war with these lies, and they will certainly not get anywhere in negotiations either.
3. With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open.
4. Passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be conducted based on the “designated route” and with “Iranian authorization.”
5. Whether the Strait is open or closed and the regulations governing it will be determined by the field, not by social media.
6. Media warfare and engineering public opinion are an important part of war, and the Iranian nation is not affected by these tricks. Read the real and accurate news of the negotiations in the recent interview of the Foreign Ministry spokesman.

Earlier, President Trump said peace talks with Iran are making progress and will continue over the weekend.  

“We had some pretty good news 20 minutes ago, but it seems to be going very well in the Middle East with Iran,” Trump told reporters traveling to Washington on Air Force One, according to MS Now. “We’ll know over a little period of time. We’re negotiating over the weekend.”

Trump said one main issue is recovering material from Iran’s nuclear program, which he said the U.S. would remove after any agreement is signed.

“Maybe I won’t extend it, but the blockade is going to remain. But maybe I won’t extend it, so you have a blockade, and unfortunately, we’ll have to start dropping bombs again,” Trump said.

Polymarket odds of the Hormuz chokepoint returning to normal status by the end of April have been on a rollercoaster ride over the last 24 hours, peaking at 64% on Friday morning after Iran announced the waterway was open, but dropping to 32% following Iran’s announcement that the maritime chokepoint was closed early Saturday.

Here are the latest headlines from the Middle East:

Strait of Hormuz Status

• Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz on Friday for commercial shipping during a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon (BN) (BN)
• Iran swiftly reversed course on Saturday morning, reimposing restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz after the US said it would not end its blockade of Iran-linked shipping (AP) (SMP) (WSJ)
• Iranian forces announced control over the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous status under strict Iranian administration and supervision (NS8) (AFP)
• Some 20 ships lining up to cross the Strait of Hormuz were turning back toward Oman after Iran’s military said the waterway was closed again (WSJ)

Shipping Activity

• A convoy of eight tankers was crossing the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, comprising one very large crude oil carrier, several oil product and chemical tankers and LPG carriers (NS8)
• Four tankers loaded with Qatari LNG within the Persian Gulf moved toward Hormuz in the last 12 hours, with no loaded LNG shipment having exited the Gulf since late February (BN)
• More crude oil and gas carriers began testing the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday despite mixed messages from Iranian authorities (BN)

US-Iran Negotiations

• Iran has not yet agreed to a next round of negotiations with the US due to Trump’s announcement of a naval blockade and excessive US demands (BV)
• Trump said a deal with Iran to end the seven-week war may be imminent, claiming most main points are finalized (BN) (BN)
• Trump claimed Iran has agreed to suspend its nuclear program indefinitely, though Iran’s Foreign Ministry said enriched uranium won’t be transferred anywhere under any circumstances (BN) (BN)

Market Activity

• Strait To New Record Highs: Hormuz Hopes Spark Risk-On Wrecking Ball Across Markets
• Inverse Fear Is Taking Over The Market

Friday’s US-Iran Wrap

• Iran Bats Down ‘Baseless’ Trump Claim On Handing Over Enriched Uranium To US, As He Declares Hormuz ‘Never Again’ Closed