President Donald Trump on Sunday morning announced the United States will implement a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz after negotiations between Washington and Iran to end the war faltered.
Trump said the blockade would begin shortly and promised that any Iranian who fires at the U.S. or at peaceful vessels “will be BLOWN TO HELL!” as the strait is demined. The president said other countries will also be involved in the blockade in a move he said is designed to keep Iran from “illegally” charging fees to vessels looking to pass through the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for safe passage.
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“Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump wrote in a post to Truth Social. “Iran will not be allowed to profit off this Illegal Act of EXTORTION. They want money and, more importantly, they want Nuclear. … THIS IS WORLD EXTORTION, and Leaders of Countries, especially the United States of America, will never be extorted. I have also instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran. No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas.”
The development comes after the U.S. reached a two-week ceasefire agreement with Iran on Tuesday. Under the terms of the ceasefire, Iran agreed to the “COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz,” according to Trump, while the truce was supposed to give the two countries an opportunity to resolve concerns about Iran’s nuclear program.
But Vice President JD Vance revealed on Saturday that talks with Iran have broken down, with the regime appearing to refuse to budge on its nuclear program. Trump detailed the meeting on Sunday, saying that though it went “well” and most points were agreed to, “the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not.”
“In many ways, the points that were agreed to are better than us continuing our Military Operations to conclusion, but all of those points don’t matter compared to allowing Nuclear Power to be in the hands of such volatile, difficult, unpredictable people,” the president said in another Sunday morning post to Truth Social. “They were very unyielding as to the single most important issue and, as I have always said, right from the beginning, and many years ago, IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!”
Meanwhile, hopes that the ceasefire would reopen the Strait of Hormuz have spiraled as traffic going through the strategic waterway has remained at a virtual standstill. Despite the truce, Iran has insisted that ships going through the channel must first obtain the regime’s permission and has suggested it retains the right to impose a toll for passage.
“Let’s be clear: the Strait of Hormuz is not open. Access is being restricted, conditioned and controlled,” Sultan Al Jaber, chief executive of ADNOC, the United Arab Emirates’ state-owned oil company, said Thursday. “Conditional passage is not passage. It is control by another name.”
Trump said Sunday the status quo was unacceptable, warning Iran is violating international law.
“Iran promised to open the Strait of Hormuz, and they knowingly failed to do so. This caused anxiety, dislocation, and pain to many people and Countries throughout the World,” he said. “As they promised, they better begin the process of getting this INTERNATIONAL WATERWAY OPEN AND FAST! Every Law in the book is being violated by them.
The Strait of Hormuz has been essentially closed for roughly six weeks, since Trump and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28. The repercussions to global energy markets have been steep, as a significant portion of the world’s oil and gas supply runs through the waterway, which connects to the Persian Gulf.
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Jaber, who is also a United Arab Emirates government minister from a country that is the third-largest oil producer in OPEC, warned last week that the Strait of Hormuz must be “unconditionally” opened because “global economic stability depends on it.”
“An estimated 230 vessels sit loaded with oil and ready to sail. They, and every vessel that follows, must be free to navigate this corridor without condition,” he said. “The immediate priority is clear: close that gap. Restore the more than 20% of globally traded energy that flows through this corridor. Rebalance markets. Ease the pressure on prices and the cost of living. This is particularly urgent for Asia, where 80% of these cargoes are bound and half the world’s population lives. Every day the Strait remains restricted, the consequences compound.”
