Iran’s parliamentary speaker said progress has been made in talks with the United States but the two sides remain “far” from a deal, the BBC reported on Saturday, as the Strait of Hormuz stayed closed and President Donald Trump declared he would not be “blackmailed” over the waterway.
An Iranian official said Tehran is “currently reviewing and has not yet responded to” new proposals put forward by Washington. Iran’s navy meanwhile declared that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed “until the US lifts its blockade on Iranian ports,” which Tehran described as a “breach of the ceasefire.”
Trump position
Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office, Trump said “very good conversations” were taking place with Iran but that the US would not yield to pressure on Hormuz. The blockade, he said, would continue “until our transaction with Iran is 100% complete.” The IRGC Navy dismissed his remarks, saying they “carry no validity.”
US Central Command said over the weekend that 23 ships had been turned around near the strait since the blockade began on April 12. BBC Verify reported that at least four vessels from Iranian ports had nonetheless appeared to cross the blockade line.
Timeline
Pakistan-brokered talks in Islamabad on April 11 broke down after 21 hours between US Vice President JD Vance and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Trump announced the naval blockade the next day. On April 17, Araghchi briefly declared the strait “completely open” for the remainder of the two-week ceasefire, before the IRGC reversed that position on Saturday and extended the closure to the safe-passage corridor.
Sri Lanka impact
The prolonged Hormuz closure keeps the fuel-shipping premium in place. CPC diesel shipments have been arriving at a $48–50 per barrel premium, compared with a pre-war rate of around $3, according to disclosures by the state fuel entity. Any sustained diplomatic breakthrough would be priced quickly into oil markets; its absence extends the Treasury’s subsidy burden through the Yala season.
