Hours after US President Donald Trump rejected a diplomatic solution put forward by Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, explosions were heard in the waterway, according to Iranian media.

Reports of blasts near southern Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz suggested that multiple antiship missiles and drones were fired at vessels transiting the waterway against Tehran’s wishes.

While Iranian authorities did not confirm any attacks in the Strait of Hormuz that day, shipping continues to be attacked in the waters, including an Indian cargo ship last week which killed a sailor.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) maintains that the strait is closed to any ship that does not coordinate with Iranian authorities. On Sunday afternoon, it released video of what it said was a second US underwater drone seizd  this month.

Tehran has issued instructions to shipping companies transiting the Strait of Hormuz to use a temporary route approved by Iranian authorities and pay relevant fees. But it has also said the strait will not fully reopen until the US blockade on Iranian ports ends.

Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority announced on Saturday that it would blacklist any shipping charterer company which orders crews to use routes it considers to be unauthorised.

It also published what it described as an apology from an unnamed shipowner blaming commercial pressure from its charterer for trying to pass through the strait.

(Aljazeera

WEATHER FORECAST FOR 28 SEPTEMBER 2026
Issued at 05.30 a.m. on 28 September 2026 by the Department of  Meteorology

Several spells of showers will occur in the Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts.

Showers or thundershowers may occur at several places in the Uva and Eastern provinces and in Polonnaruwa and Mullaittivu districts after 2.00 p.m.

The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damage caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Alleging that the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) had betrayed the joint protest campaign, planned on 24 Sept., at Polduwa junction, against the enactment of the 22nd Amendment without securing public approval at a referendum, SJB trade union leader Ananda Palitha emphasised that SJB and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa should take remedial measures to restore the alliance against the NPP government.

Responding to The Island queries, the trade union activist said that he spoke on behalf of the vast majority of the SJBers who felt betrayed by the sudden declaration made by Colombo District SJB lawmaker S.M. Marikkar that they didn’t expect Opposition political parties’ participation, except that of the UNP.

Pointing out that at the behest of Premadasa, MP Marikkar belittled those who had pledged on 17 Sept. to join the SJB-led protest, Palitha emphasised the Opposition leader should be held responsible for restoring the shattered alliance. Palitha warned that the NPP, which was rapidly moving on a dictatorial path, would be the beneficiary of such treacherous actions.

When The Island raised the allegations pertaining to the 24 Sept. protest, Colombo District MP Premadasa said there was no basis for such claims. MP Premadasa called the accusations directed at him ‘rubbish.’

Palitha said that the pathetic failure on the part of the Opposition to genuinely challenge the authoritarian NPP should be examined, taking into consideration the government following an agenda almost 100 percent against the election pledges. Except the much touted anti-corruption campaign, the NPP reneged on all its election promises.

Recalling massive rice imports after having promised to stop the same in the run up to the national elections in 2024, Palitha alleged that the utterly corrupt NPP created an artificial shortage to enable import of large stocks of salt for their benefit. Massive earnings were made through commissions, Palitha said, urging the SJB to reiterate its commitment to the 17 Sept. pledge. According to him, the SJB’s irresponsible action sabotaged the joint Opposition agreement reached on the eve of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake completing two years in Office.

Palitha said that the disruption of a genuinely joint protest, at the last moment, caused irreparable harm to the Opposition. The unexpected eleventh hour declaration made by the SJB upset their efforts to organise a large scale two-day protest on 24 and 25 Sept. Palitha emphasised the responsibility on the part of the SJB leadership and its top management to spearhead an all-out campaign against the government. The former petroleum sector employee said that a strong and transparent campaign could undermine the NPP within as a section of its parliamentary group was deeply dismayed by the current policies and strategies.

Palitha, in his capacity as the trade union leader, invited the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) to join the trade unions’ protest on 25 Sept. to intensify pressure on the government. BASL President Rajeev Amarasuriya told The Island that they didn’t accept that invitation.

Former SLPP Kalutara District MP Sanjeewa Edirimanna said that the SJB was far more keen to organise a large-scale protest to counter the SLPP’s highly successful Anuradhapura rally held on 12 September than a genuine joint protest against the 22nd Amendment or the government. Edirimanna said that they realised that the SJB would probably join a joint protest campaign only after organising a gathering to counter the SLPP. According to him, the SJB hadn’t been honestly interested in a joint protest campaign. Instead, it sought to resist possible challenges from rival political parties, he said.

An aide to UNP leader and former President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that though the SJB announced they were welcome to join the 24 Sept. protest, the party never received an invitation. The official said that some UNPers joined the protest on their own though the party neither directed supporters to join or boycott the event. As the Janathawadi Joint Opposition decided against participating for want of formal invitations, the UNP, as part of that group, decided not to join the 24 Sept. protest.