Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref has warned that his nation would no longer allow “enemy” military equipment to transit the blockade Strait of Hormuz, even as US President Donald Trump issued a veiled threat, calling the fragile ceasefire in West Asia a “calm before the storm.”
“We had given up our right of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, and we previously allowed the passage of military equipment that was intended to be used against us through the Strait of Hormuz. We will not permit that again,” Aref posted on X.
On Saturday (May 16, 2026), Iranian Parliament’s National Security Committee Head Ebrahim Azizi said Iran had prepared a “professional mechanism” to regulate maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz by designating a route that would be announced soon.
In an X post, Azizi said the proposed mechanism was developed within the Iranian sovereignty framework, aimed at ensuring the security of international trade.
He said only commercial vessels and parties cooperating with Iran would be permitted to benefit from the new traffic mechanism to be proposed for the Strait of Hormuz.
The proposed route through the strait would be closed to operators associated with the US’s “Freedom” project, he added. “The necessary fees will be collected for the specialised services provided under this mechanism,” his post read.
The development comes amidst an agreement between the US and China that “Iran can’t have nuclear weapons” and that the Strait of Hormuz must be opened.
Trump, who met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing last week, said the two leaders agreed on ending Iran’s nuclear programme and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Trump and Xi had discussed the ongoing West Asia conflict during their bilateral summit meeting.
Later, speaking to reporters on board Air Force One after departing from Beijing, Trump said the US now controlled the Strait of Hormuz, emphasising that Iran was hit with a $500 million loss a day in the last two-and-a-half weeks in view of the US naval blockade of its ports.
“I have a lot of respect for him (Xi). On Iran, he feels strongly that they can’t have a nuclear weapon…said that very strongly, they can’t have a nuclear weapon…and he wants them to open up the strait,” Trump claimed.
“But as he said, they close it, and you close them. And it’s true, we (US) control the strait, and they (Iran) have done no business in the last two and a half weeks, which is approximately 500 million dollars a day,” he added.
Issuing a veiled threat to Iran, Trump called the lack of military action in West Asia the “calm before the storm,” even as his aides were discussing the resumption of airstrikes on Iran. This warning message from Trump came in the form of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) image he posted on this Truth Social account.
Trump has also warned of a “very bad time” for Iran if a peace deal is not signed soon. “They have an interest in reaching an agreement,” Trump said.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said on Friday (May 15) that his government received messages from the Trump administration indicating a willingness for new talks but cautioned that “distrust” over Washington’s true intentions remained.
Though the fragile ceasefire, announced on April 8, holds, Iran and the US have not returned to the negotiation table to discuss peace, as mediated by Pakistan, after the first round of talks failed in the middle of April.