According to CCTV News, the Central Headquarters of Khatam al-Anbiya of Iran’s Armed Forces stated on the 20th local time that the Strait of Hormuz would be closed to all vessels.

In a statement released the same day, the headquarters pointed out that the United States had blatantly broken its promises and failed to implement Clause 1 of the memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war. In addition, Israel has repeatedly violated the ceasefire agreement by launching constant attacks on southern Lebanon, killing numerous Lebanese civilians and displacing hundreds of thousands of people, while Israeli troops have yet to withdraw from southern Lebanon. On these grounds, it officially announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to all ships.

The statement stressed that this is only the first response to the opposing parties’ breaches of agreement. If acts of aggression continue, further measures will be taken to force the other side to honor its commitments.

Bitcoin plunged rapidly after the news, with its gain shrinking from over 2% to merely 0.9%. Most other cryptocurrencies remained in positive territory but saw notable pullbacks in their growth rates. As of press time, more than 67,000 traders across the global crypto market faced forced liquidations.