Fewer than 20 commercial vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, according to data released on Monday, as restrictions imposed by Iran and the US limit traffic through the strategically important waterway for global energy markets.
Preliminary data from maritime tracking company Kpler showed that just four vessels crossed the strait on Sunday, while 13 crossed on Saturday.
The figures remain subject to revision, as some vessels switch off their tracking systems while passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran warns against US economic pressure
Meanwhile, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned the US on Sunday that an “unprecedented economic war” against Iran through tougher sanctions would ultimately hurt Washington itself.
He shared a cartoon on X depicting what he described as an “Iranian boomerang”.
US President Donald Trump announced last Wednesday that he intended to dramatically increase economic pressure on Tehran, threatening countries that provide any form of “support” to the Iranian economy.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is expected to brief the press on Monday on the measures, which he described as the “toughest sanctions in history”.
Iranian state media appeared to play down the US threats. Tasnim news agency said Washington had spent years trying to suffocate Iran’s economy by cutting the country’s international economic ties, but claimed Iran had “learned to bypass” US restrictions and was “very capable” of doing so.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that the economic war had been waged by the US against Iran for years and formed part of its intimidation tactics. He added that Iran had learned how to deal with it.
Growing economic pressure
Despite its sophisticated sanctions-evasion system, Iran’s economic growth has come under increasing pressure in recent years.
Citizens have faced a sharp rise in inflation in recent months.
Iran’s new head of the National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, warned oil-exporting countries in the region on state television on Sunday against joining the US economic campaign.
He said any country that did so would be considered an enemy and that not “a single drop” of its oil would be allowed to pass through the Gulf.
Iran announces new gas reserves
Meanwhile, Iran announced on Sunday the discovery of more than 200 billion cubic metres of natural gas in the country’s southern regions.
Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said new gas deposits had been discovered in southern Fars province, according to state television.
More than 160 billion cubic metres could be recoverable from the deposit, he said.
Paknejad added that the gas is “sweet”, meaning it contains no hydrogen sulphide or other acidic components. This could reduce both extraction and field development costs.
According to Bloomberg, however, any new production from the field is not expected to begin for years.
The developments come as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains sharply reduced, highlighting the waterway’s importance to global energy supplies.
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