Disruption in the strategic waterway has roiled global economies.
President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.
Following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire, initial U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan earlier this month failed to reach a peace deal. On Tuesday, Trump announced he was extending the ceasefire and continuing the blockade until Iran's proposal is submitted and discussions are concluded "one way or the other."
Direct peace talks between Israel and Lebanon at the ambassador level will now be held at the White House, according to a U.S. official.
"President Trump will greet both representatives upon their arrival," according to a U.S. official.
Israel is waiting for the "green light" from the U.S. to resume the war with Iran, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday, after meeting with Israeli military officials.
"Israel is prepared to renew the war against Iran," Katz said. "The IDF is prepared for defense and attack, and the targets are marked."
"Waiting for the green light from the U.S. -- first and foremost to complete the elimination of the Khamenei dynasty," Katz said.
Katz also threatened to target Iran's energy infrastructure along with its "national economic infrastructure."
"The attack this time will be different and deadly and will add devastating blows in the most painful places - following the enormous blows that the Iranian terrorist regime has suffered so far -- that will shake and collapse its foundations," Katz said.
U.S. Central Command said that 33 vessels have been turned back as part of its blockade on ships leaving from or heading to Iranian ports. Most of those ships have been oil tankers.
President Donald Trump indicated Thursday morning that there is no centralized leader in Iran right now, claiming that the government has been fractured between moderates and hardliners as the U.S. indefinitely extends its ceasefire with the country.
“Iran is having a very hard time figuring out who their leader is! They just don’t know!” Trump said in a social media post.
“The infighting is between the ‘Hardliners,’ who have been losing BADLY on the battlefield, and the ‘Moderates,’ who are not very moderate at all (but gaining respect!), is CRAZY!” he added.
Trump’s post comes days after the U.S. extended its ceasefire indefinitely, citing divisions within the Iranian government that are hindering negotiations on a peace deal.
Trump also again claimed that the U.S. has “total control” over the Strait of Hormuz even as Iranian attacks on merchant ships have continued this week and traffic through the region remains severely limited.
-ABC News' Nicholas Kerr
