Iran has declared that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed as the U.S.-Iran war approaches the one-month mark. This latest development follows Trump’s decision to delay strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure on the claim that Iran had made this request with ongoing peace talks.
Iran Declares Strait of Hormuz Still Closed as U.S.-Iran War Drags On
According to Iran’s Mehr news agency, the IRGC Navy declared that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and that any attempt to pass through it will face severe consequences. The IRGC also said that it turned back three container vessels of different nationalities that attempted to pass through the Strait.
This follows Trump’s statement yesterday during the Cabinet meeting, in which he revealed that Iran had allowed ten oil tankers to pass as a gift to show their seriousness towards negotiations. It also comes as Iran continues to maintain a stance that there are no ongoing negotiations despite Trump’s claims of peace talks towards ending the U.S.-Iran war.
In a Truth Social post yesterday, the U.S. president announced that at Iran’s request, he was pausing the strikes on the country’s energy plants for 10 days, until April 6. “Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well,” he added.
The announcement came hours after Trump cast doubt on a peace deal, saying he wasn’t sure whether a deal would happen or whether they were willing to make one. Meanwhile, mediators between the U.S. and Iran said that Iran didn’t request any pause on energy strikes, contrary to Trump’s statement.
Crypto Prices Under Pressure
The crypto market is under renewed pressure as the U.S.-Iran war drags on, amid uncertainty over a potential peace deal. The total crypto market is down over 3% today, dropping to $2.27 trillion from a high of around $2.34 trillion, according to Trading View data.
The Bitcoin price has notably crashed from a high of $69,000 yesterday to as low as $66,000 today. BTC is down over 3% today and almost 5% over the last week, dropping from a weekly high of nearly $72,000.
Crypto prices are also facing pressure as the U.S.-Iran war has driven yields to new highs, with the 10-year Note Yield up to $4.47% and mortgage rates hitting fresh 7-month highs, as noted by market commentator The Kobeissi Letter. Expectations over the Fed’s next move are also weighing on these risk assets as market participants are already pricing out the possibility of a rate cut anytime soon due to inflation concerns.
Despite claims of peace talks, crypto traders are still betting that the U.S.-Iran war will drag on for months. There is currently only a 39% chance of a U.S.-Iran ceasefire by April 30, according to Polymarket data.
