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Cairo– <\/span>Iran doubled its pledge to ban ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz as long as the US blockade of Iranian ports continues, as mediators struggled to secure further talks before the ceasefire expires this week.<\/p>\n Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said in a televised interview that Tehran would continue to threaten commercial ships passing through the vital waterway, after it fired on ships trying to pass through on Saturday.<\/p>\n Qalibaf, Iran’s chief negotiator in talks with the United States, said, “It is impossible for others to pass through the Strait of Hormuz while we cannot.”<\/p>\n Iran’s navy has warned ships against passing through the strait, a chokepoint through which about a fifth of the world’s oil typically passes. After a brief uptick in transit efforts on Saturday, ships in the Persian Gulf held their positions, with two India-flagged ships being fired upon mid-transit and forced to turn back.<\/p>\n Their withdrawal returned the strait to its pre-armistice status, threatening to deepen the global energy crisis and push the parties into renewed conflict as the war enters its eighth week.<\/p>\n tender ceasefire<\/a> Talks between America and Iran will end by Wednesday. Iran said on Saturday it had received new proposals from the United States and Pakistani mediators were working to arrange another round of direct talks.<\/p>\n For iran<\/a>The strait was closed after the US and Israel began war on February 28 during talks over Tehran. nuclear program<\/a> -Perhaps its most powerful weapon is threatening. global economy<\/a> And to cause political pain to President Donald Trump. For the United States, the blockade squeezes Iran’s already weak economy and puts pressure on its government by denying it long-term cash flow.<\/p>\n Although the ceasefire remains in place, the standoff in the strait risks plunging the region back into war, which has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran. More than 2,290 in Lebanon<\/a>23 in Israel and more than a dozen in the Gulf Arab states. Thirteen US service members are killed.<\/p>\n Iran announces reopening of the strait for commercial ships 10 day ceasefire<\/a> between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group<\/a> A storm hit Lebanon on Friday. But after Trump said blockade<\/a> Iran’s ports will “remain fully operational” until Tehran reaches a deal with the United States, Iran said, adding that it will continue to enforce its sanctions on ships trying to pass through.<\/p>\n The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said Revolutionary Guard gunboats fired on a tanker and one projectile hit a container ship, damaging some containers. India’s External Affairs Ministry said it summoned Iran’s ambassador over the “serious incident” of firing on two Indian-flagged merchant ships, especially after Iran had previously let several India-bound ships pass.<\/p>\n