U.S. Ultimatum to Iran: Sign by Tuesday Night or the Bombing Resumes

The U.S. issued an ultimatum to Iran this evening (on motzaei Shabbat), saying it must sign the agreement by Tuesday night or the war will resume.

The announcement was issued in response to a statement from Iran's Revolutionary Guards, who earlier today said they had decided to close the Strait of Hormuz to traffic, which had been opened yesterday morning. The Iranians said the move was carried out because of \"a violation of the ceasefire by the U.S. military, under orders from President Donald Trump\".

The Iranian statement said: \"Any violation of agreements by the United States will be met with an appropriate response. As long as ships to and from Iran are threatened, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz will remain unchanged\".

The Iranian announcement comes after the U.S. military said today that in the coming days it will forcibly seize any Iranian oil tanker that breaks the blockade. The seizure will be carried out by force, in the Hormuz area and in other places around the world. In addition, Trump instructed the U.S. military to continue the economic blockade on Iran, even if the Strait of Hormuz is open to traffic.

The command managing the fighting in Iran announced that, following the ongoing American blockade on the ports, which Trump refuses to lift, the strait is returning to \"tight control by the military forces\". The meaning of the step: closure of the strait to free passage. It should be noted that yesterday morning Iran announced the opening of the strait, following \"the ceasefire in Lebanon\". Today it was reported that Iran attacked an oil tanker that left an Iraqi port and approached the Strait of Hormuz. The ship sustained damage.

Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, wrote: \"We warned you, but you did not listen. Now enjoy the Strait of Hormuz returning to the 'status quo'\". Iranian media this evening published a message in the name of the Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei. In a Telegram post it read: \"Iran's navy is ready to inflict new defeats on the enemy\".

In response to the Revolutionary Guards' announcement, President Trump said at a press briefing: \"If an agreement is not reached by Wednesday, we may not extend the ceasefire with Iran. The blockade on Iranian ports will continue, and unfortunately we will have to drop bombs again\".