IRGC declares the Strait of Hormuz closed

Iran's Revolutionary Guard navy declared the Strait of Hormuz closed until further notice and until the end of U.S. interference, after firing a warning shot at a vessel it said tried to transit along an unapproved route. It was the first outright closure declaration since the war began, sharply raising the stakes over the chokepoint that carries about a fifth of the world's oil and gas.

Why this matters. A declared closure converts Iran's creeping Hormuz control into an open ultimatum: it is the most direct challenge yet to the June MOU's open-strait promise and the trigger that drew the latest U.S. strikes.