Iran’s Hormuz whiplash highlights divide within regime as U.S. blockade tightens. ‘The fight between different factions has started’

Iran’s military declared the Strait of Hormuz closed again on Saturday after a head-spinning 24 hours of mixed messages from the regime that underscored friction between competing power centers.

Early Friday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the strait was “completely” open to ships that followed Iran’s established route. President Donald Trump also announced Iran had reopened the narrow waterway, sparking a massive stock market rally.

But the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps soon asserted it remained in firm control of the strait. Iran’s Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the IRGC, also took the unusual step of criticizing Araghchi’s declaration that the strait was fully open, calling it “a complete lack of tact in information dissemination.”

Fars, another IRGC-linked news agency, piled on Araghchi, saying that “following the unexpected tweet from the Foreign Minister about the liberation of the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian society has been plunged into an atmosphere of confusion.”

Since the U.S. and Israel launched their war against Iran in late February and killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with several other top leaders, the IRGC has taken a more assertive role in the regime’s military and diplomatic responses.

While IRGC commanders have also been killed, the remaining officers are seen steering Iran toward a more hard-line, combative stance, favoring continued fighting instead of a ceasefire deal th...