The IRGC’s message about the closing Strait of Hormuz again shows that Iran intends to keep leveraging control of the waterway as a “threat” while the US continues to blockade Iranian ports, Mohamed Elmasry, media studies professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, tells Al Jazeera.

“The situation is fluid and dynamic. We’re not getting total clarity,” Elmasry said.

“In some ways, this is not surprising given what was said and done yesterday from the US. It was a confusing set of messages.

“I think already we’re seeing that this was perhaps a miscalculation by the US to maintain its blockade on Iranian ports. Iran is interpreting this as a violation of whatever arrangement that was worked out,” he added.

“These negotiations that Trump is talking about and playing up in very positive terms … there’s a real chance that could all blow into thin air if the US overplays its hand,” the academic said.