{"id":63469,"date":"2026-06-20T10:08:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T14:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/iran-orders-closure-of-strait-of-hormuz-citing-ceasefire-breaches-u-s-disputes-claims\/63469\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T10:08:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T14:08:12","slug":"iran-orders-closure-of-strait-of-hormuz-citing-ceasefire-breaches-u-s-disputes-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/iran-orders-closure-of-strait-of-hormuz-citing-ceasefire-breaches-u-s-disputes-claims\/63469\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran Orders Closure of Strait of Hormuz Citing Ceasefire Breaches; U.S. Disputes Claims"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Iran&#39;s military command ordered the closure of the Strait of Hormuz<\/strong> on Saturday, June 20, 2026, citing alleged U.S. and Israeli violations of a newly signed memorandum of understanding (MoU).<\/li>\n<li><strong>U.S. Vice President JD Vance disputed the closure<\/strong>, stating there is &quot;no evidence&quot; the waterway is blocked and expressing confidence that technical talks in Switzerland will proceed.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Iranian Foreign Ministry warned of a &quot;commitment for commitment&quot; stance<\/strong>, dispatching a delegation to Switzerland to demand the fulfillment of the other party&#39;s obligations.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The U.S. has reportedly delayed blacklisting over 100 Chinese firms<\/strong>, including AI startup <strong>DeepSeek<\/strong> and chipmaker <strong>CXMT<\/strong>, in an effort to avoid escalating tensions with Beijing.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Oil markets remain volatile<\/strong> as the initial reopening of the Strait earlier this week saw daily vessel transits hit a high of 25 before the latest Iranian military announcement.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Middle East Tensions Escalate Over Strait of Hormuz<\/h2>\n<p>Iran\u2019s top joint military command, the <strong>Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters<\/strong>, announced on Saturday that the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong> would be shut to all ship traffic. The command described the move as a &quot;first step&quot; in response to what it termed a &quot;clear breach of trust&quot; by the United States and ongoing Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon. Iranian state media, including <em>Mehr<\/em> and <em>Fars<\/em>, reported that the closure is a direct consequence of the non-implementation of Clause 1 of the <strong>Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding<\/strong>, which was signed digitally on June 18.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the announcement from Tehran, U.S. Vice President <strong>JD Vance<\/strong> told <em>Fox News<\/em> that there is currently <strong>no proof<\/strong> that Iran has successfully blocked the vital shipping lane. Vance emphasized that the U.S. remains committed to the ceasefire and that presidential envoys <strong>Steve Witkoff<\/strong> and <strong>Jared Kushner<\/strong> have already arrived in Switzerland to prepare for technical negotiations. <em>\u201cI expect that I will leave sometime in the next couple of days,\u201d<\/em> Vance stated, noting that the talks could begin as early as Sunday.<\/p>\n<h2>Diplomatic &quot;Commitment for Commitment&quot;<\/h2>\n<p>The Iranian Foreign Ministry has adopted a firm &quot;commitment for commitment&quot; stance, with a spokesperson stating that the country did not sign an &quot;unenforceable&quot; agreement. An Iranian delegation is reportedly traveling to <strong>Switzerland<\/strong> to follow up on the MoU, specifically demanding that the &quot;other party&quot; act promptly to meet its obligations. The spokesperson warned that the <strong>overall understanding is at risk<\/strong> if these commitments remain unmet, particularly regarding the cessation of hostilities on all fronts.<\/p>\n<p>The diplomatic friction follows a brief period of optimism where maritime tracking data from <strong>AXSMarine<\/strong> showed 25 commercial vessels transited the Strait on Thursday\u2014the highest single-day count since mid-April. However, the renewed threats of closure and reports of continued strikes in Lebanon have cast a shadow over the 60-day negotiation framework established by President <strong>Donald Trump<\/strong> and Iranian President <strong>Masoud Pezeshkian<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2>U.S. Holds Off on Chinese Tech Blacklist<\/h2>\n<p>In a separate but significant geopolitical development, the U.S. has reportedly held off on adding <strong>DeepSeek<\/strong> and more than 100 other Chinese companies to the <strong>Commerce Department\u2019s Entity List<\/strong>. While an interagency panel had previously approved the listings due to national security concerns, the <strong>Trump administration<\/strong> has delayed the final designation to avoid further straining relations with China.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DeepSeek<\/strong> gained international notoriety in early 2025 when its low-cost AI model triggered a massive sell-off in U.S. tech stocks, including a record <strong>$589 billion<\/strong> one-day market cap loss for <strong>Nvidia<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/NVDA\">NVDA<\/a>). Analysts suggest that the decision to pause the blacklisting of firms like <strong>CXMT<\/strong> (ChangXin Memory Technologies) may be a strategic move to maintain leverage in broader trade and rare earth mineral negotiations with Beijing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Iran&#39;s military command ordered the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, June 20, 2026, citing alleged 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