The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned on Tuesday it would respond firmly to any ships that diverge from Iran’s approved route through the Strait of Hormuz, as Israeli television reported US President Donald Trump came close to ordering renewed strikes over the weekend before calling them off.

The warning came on the second day of a US effort to facilitate the transit of commercial ships through the blockaded waterway.

“We warn all vessels planning to transit the Strait of Hormuz that the only safe passage is the corridor previously announced by Iran. Any diversion of ships to other routes is dangerous and will result in a firm response from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards navy,” the IRGC said in a statement carried by state television.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s chief negotiator in Pakistani-mediated peace talks, said Tehran has “not even started” its standoff over the Strait of Hormuz.

“We know full well that the continuation of the status quo is intolerable for America; whilst we have not even started yet,” said Ghalibaf, who is also the speaker in Iran’s parliament, in a post on X.

He claimed the actions of the US and its allies had put shipping security at risk, but their “malign presence will diminish.”

The strait normally carries about a fifth of the world’s oil shipments but was blockaded by Iran in response to the bombing campaign that the US and Israel launched on the Islamic Republic on February 28.

The US imposed its own blockade on Iran-linked shipping days into a truce that began on April 8, and Trump has said Washington would respond forcefully to foreign interference in the US effort to guide trapped commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said some 23,000 civilians from 87 countries are currently on ships trapped in the Persian Gulf.

The US effort, dubbed Operation Project Freedom, has seen tensions spike amid the Iran ceasefire, with American and Iranian forces exchanging fire. The UAE has accused Iran of targeting it with missiles on Monday and Tuesday, though Iran has denied firing at the Gulf state, claiming to have taken “defensive actions” directed at the US.

Earlier Tuesday, US officials signaled that the truce was holding and that the clashes did not mean a return to open conflict. But American and Israeli military officials also said their militaries were ready to resume fighting.

World leaders are pushing for restraint. Speaking to a reporter in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump declined to say what Iran would have to do for him to decide it violated the ceasefire.

“You’ll find out because I’ll let you know when they do,” Trump said. “They know what not to do.”

He added, “They should do the smart thing because we don’t want to go in and kill people.”

External advisers reportedly pressing Trump to resume war

On Tuesday evening, Channel 12 news reported that Trump has repeatedly shifted his stance in recent days on whether to go back to war against Iran, and came close to ordering renewed strikes, but is currently holding off to let negotiations play out.

According to the report, which cited US officials, Trump came close on........

© The Times of Israel