Iran Threatens To Close Hormuz Again As Israeli Strikes on Lebanon Put Fragile US Peace Deal at Risk
- Iran has warned ships to stay away from the Strait of Hormuz after renewed Israeli strikes on Lebanon
- At least 16 people were killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday, 21 June 2026, despite reports of a new ceasefire
- US Vice President JD Vance flew to Switzerland on Sunday to take part in nuclear talks with Iran, saying he was confident the interim deal would hold despite the fresh tensions
PAY ATTENTION: You can now search for all your favourite news and topics on Briefly News.
Source: Facebook
INTERNATIONAL - A peace deal between the United States and Iran that the world had barely had time to celebrate is already under serious pressure after Iran threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz once more. They pointed to Israeli military strikes on Lebanon as the reason.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned ships not to enter the strategic waterway on 21 June 2026. They cited Israeli violations in Lebanon and the United States failing to honour its commitments under the interim ceasefire agreement signed just days earlier.
The strait, which before the war carried around a fifth of the world's oil and gas supplies, has become one of the most sensitive pressure points in the entire conflict.
What is happening in Lebanon
The ongoing violence between Israel and Hezbollah is the thread pulling the whole deal apart. Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday killed at least 16 people, according to local authorities, with Lebanon's civil defence agency saying its teams had been working through the early morning hours to transport the dead and wounded to hospital in the Nabatieh district.
PAY ATTENTION: stay informed and follow us on Google News!
Israel's military said it was targeting Hezbollah infrastructure in response to rocket and drone attacks, including an incident on Friday in which four Israeli soldiers and a senior officer were killed when their tank was hit.
The violence comes despite an April truce that was extended multiple times but never fully observed by either side.
A newer ceasefire was reportedly announced on the same day as the latest strikes, though its exact status remained unclear.
Hezbollah said it would respect a ceasefire only if Israel did the same. While Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz made clear that military operations in southern Lebanon would continue regardless.
How this affects South Africa
Rising global oil and gas prices driven by disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz have knock-on effects for South Africa, which imports fuel and relies heavily on global shipping routes.
Longer closures of the strait push up fuel prices and broader inflation at home.
Source: Getty Images
More on the Middle East
A new study found that the Middle East war has pushed more shipping traffic around South Africa's southwestern coast, putting whales in the area at much greater risk of being struck by vessels rerouting away from the conflict zone.
Iran allegedly shot down a US Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz, with two American pilots rescued by an uncrewed sea drone within hours.
The United States and Iran announced a historic peace deal aimed at ending months of conflict that disrupted global oil supplies.
PAY ATTENTION: Follow Briefly News on Twitter and never miss the hottest topics! Find us at @brieflyza!
Source: Briefly News
