The United States military has confirmed that its naval blockade of Iranian ports remains in full effect, despite repeated threats from Tehran. In a statement issued on Saturday, US Central Command disclosed that its forces have redirected 58 commercial ships and disabled four vessels since 13 April, preventing them from entering or leaving Iranian harbours. The announcement comes amid mounting tension in the strategic waterway, where Iranian state media reported scattered clashes between Iranian forces and American warships in the Strait of Hormuz last Friday.

While an Iranian military source later described the situation as calm, it cautioned that skirmishes could resume at any moment. Viewed from Washington, the blockade is an extension of the Trump administration’s maximalist pressure campaign, though its tactical execution has been uneven. President Trump recently suspended what he called “Project Freedom”, a short-lived initiative to guide shipping through the strait, only to suggest days later that he might revive it as “Project Freedom Plus” with expanded scope.

The ambiguity has left allies and adversaries alike guessing at America’s next move. In Tehran, the calculus is shifting toward institutional countermeasures. The Iranian parliament is studying a draft bill titled “Strategic Action for the Management of the Strait of Hormuz”, which according to the head of the parliamentary research centre could establish a quasi-national structure to oversee traffic through the chokepoint.

Analysts in the Gulf region note that such a move would formalise Iran’s longstanding claim to control over the waterway, raising the stakes for any future confrontation. For now, the blockade continues without interruption, and the 58 diverted ships underscore its immediate economic toll on Iranian trade. But the longer-term question is whether Washington can sustain this operation without triggering a broader naval engagement, and whether Tehran’s legislative gambit signals a shift from reactive skirmishing to a more coherent strategy of maritime defiance.