On the evening of April 17, Trump called reporters to declare the Hormuz crisis “over” — “It's a great victory.” He told CBS that Iran “agreed to everything.” Less than 12 hours later, on the morning of April 18, everything collapsed.
An Iranian Revolutionary Guard ship fired on a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. A second container ship was hit by an “unknown projectile” damaging cargo. A cruise ship reported a “splash in close proximity.” Iran's military announced it was closing the strait again and putting it under “strict control” until the U.S. ended its blockade. Iran's supreme leader Khamenei said the U.S. would experience “the bitterness of new defeats.”
Iran explicitly denied the enriched uranium claim for the third time: “Enriched uranium is as sacred to us as Iranian soil and will not be transferred anywhere under any circumstances.” Iran's Parliament Speaker said: “The President of the United States made seven claims in one hour, all seven of which were false. They did not win the war with these lies.”
On Air Force One Friday night, Trump had also threatened to resume bombing: “Maybe I won't extend it. So you have a blockade, and unfortunately, we'll have to start dropping bombs again.” The ceasefire expires Wednesday, April 22.
India summoned Iran's ambassador over the firing on two India-flagged merchant ships. A U.S. official told Axios at least three attacks on commercial ships occurred Saturday. The strait went from “completely open” to gunfire in under 12 hours.
This is entry #500 in the Trump Tracker — and it captures the pattern in miniature: declare victory, get contradicted by reality, threaten escalation.