After Israeli bombing of Beirut killed at least 254 people and wounded 837, Iranian officials said Tehran had closed the Strait of Hormuz again and warned it could withdraw from the ceasefire agreed with the US overnight.
Warplanes levelled several buildings in the centre of Beirut, creating havoc in the bustling city.
The fate of the two-week ceasefire in the Iran conflict looks now uncertain as both sides gave divergent versions of what had been agreed.
Iran’s Fars news agency said oil tankers passing through the strait of Hormuz had been stopped as a result of Israel’s “ceasefire breach”. Iran was due to have reopened the strait during the two weeks of the ceasefire, and the oil price had dropped sharply below $100 a barrel in the hours after the truce was announced, prompting a global stock market surge.
The news did not bring any immediate relief for the hundreds of laden tankers trapped in the Gulf by the conflict, which were awaiting approval from insurers before beginning to move, and reported continued interference with their satellite navigation systems.
The White House called the reports from Iran’s state media about the closure of the strait of Hormuz “false” and said Trump expected it to reopen “immediately, quickly and safely” as the US signaled continued adherence to the ceasefire – even as it threatened to unravel.
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