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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| US military says it has redirected 27 vessels since Iran blockade |
| 2026-04-21 |
| [IsraelTimes] The US military has directed 27 vessels to turn around or return to an Iranian port since the beginning of its blockade on Iranian ports around the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Central Command says in a statement on X. EU to widen Iran sanctions to those who block Hormuz [IsraelTimes] The European Union will expand the criteria of its Iran sanctions to include those responsible for blocking the Strait of Hormuz, which has been largely shut for nearly two months, upending global energy and commodities markets, two EU diplomats say. Tehran effectively closed the strait after US-Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28, cutting off roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies. More than a dozen tankers sailed through Hormuz after Iran briefly declared it open on Friday, but the ceasefire agreement was thrown into jeopardy after the United States seized an Iranian cargo ship as it maintained its own military blockade of Iranian ports. “There was a political agreement among ambassadors that we indeed would change the criteria in Iran’s sanctions regime so that we could also list persons and entities that are responsible for the obstruction of the freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” one of the diplomats says. A second diplomatic source says the European External Action Service would need a few weeks to prepare any new listings. The EEAS is in charge of placing people and companies under sanctions, while the European Commission handles sector-wide restrictions. In January, the EU designated Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, and in March, it listed Iranian officials for human rights violations. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
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| Posted by: NN2N1 2026-04-21 13:14 |
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| Posted by: Skidmark 2026-04-21 09:47 |
| #1 |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2026-04-21 09:30 |