‘WE’RE PUTTING ON A COMPLETE BLOCKADE’: In an overnight post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump announced his planned blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would begin at 10 a.m. Washington time, 5:30 p.m. in Iran.
“We’re putting on a complete blockade. We’re not going to let Iran make money on selling oil to people that they like and not people that they don’t like,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures. “You saw what we did with Venezuela,” he told host Maria Bartiromo. “It’ll be something very similar to that, but at a higher level.”
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“The blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman,” the U.S. Central Command said in a statement issued last night. “CENTCOM forces will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.”
“There’s a little bit of distinction between what the president put out, which was a complete blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the statement that you’ve just seen from U.S. Central Command,” former Supreme NATO Commander retired Adm. James Stavridis said on CNN last night. “It’s a more nuanced statement, and it implies that we’re going to shut down the Iranian commerce. We’re going to blockade Iran. Iran is a belligerent. We’re in a war with Iran.”
“It’s ultimately not simply closing the Strait to the Iranians,” Stavridis said. “We have to open it for everybody else. And those are two distinct tasks. The latter will involve mine hunting, minesweeping, defending against the Iranians.”
“We’re just bringing the ships up. We got a lot of ships. We’re bringing them up. We think that numerous countries are going to be helping us with this also,” Trump told Fox. “We have minesweepers there now. We have highly sophisticated underwater minesweepers, which are the latest and the greatest, but we’re also bringing in more traditional minesweepers.”
Iran is vowing to retaliate. “Security in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman is either for everyone or for NO ONE,” a military spokesman said on Iranian TV. “NO PORT in the region will be safe.”
Enforcing the blockade is not without risk, Stavridis warned. “We’ve taken out a lot of their conventional military capability, but they still have mines that could be thrown into the Gulf. They could still use small craft for terrorist attacks. Think small boats loaded with explosives coming alongside big tankers.”
Still, he thinks the gamble may pay off, as the Iranians see their economy strangled by this blockade. “I think there’s a better than even chance it probably is effective.”
TRUMP TO IMPOSE NAVAL BLOCKADE IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ TO STOP IRANIAN ‘WORLD EXTORTION’
TRUMP: ‘THEY REFUSED TO GIVE UP THEIR NUCLEAR AMBITION’: By all accounts, the weekend’s 21-hour negotiation session in Islamabad was cordial and seemed to be making progress, until it wasn’t.
“We’ve had a number of substantive discussions with the Iranians. That’s the good news. The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement,” said lead U.S. negotiator Vice President JD Vance, before departing for Washington. ”We were negotiating in good faith, and we leave here, and we leave here with a very simple proposal, a method of understanding that is our final and best offer.”
On Truth Social, Trump insisted that the U.S. was “very friendly and respectful” of Iran’s representatives, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, Abbas Araghchi, and Ali Bagheri, but that “they were very unyielding as to the single most important issue.”
“It was a good meeting yesterday, really a good meeting, except for one problem. And it’s 95%. They want to have nuclear weapons. It’s not going to happen,” Trump told Fox News. “Toward the end, it got very friendly. And we got just about every point we needed, except for the fact that they refused to give up their nuclear ambition.”
Iran has said repeatedly it is willing to forswear nuclear weapons — as it did in 2015 in the deal struck with President Barack Obama — but insists it has a right to enrich uranium at low levels for its “peaceful” energy program. “Iran engaged with U.S in good faith to end war. But when just inches away from ‘Islamabad MoU,’ we encountered maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade,” Iranian foreign Minister posted on X. “Zero lessons learned. Good will begets good will. Enmity begets enmity.”
US AND IRAN FAIL TO STRIKE PEACE DEAL AFTER LENGTHY TALKS, VANCE SAYS
U.K.’S STARMER: COUNT US OUT: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer — who last week expressed frustration with Trump, saying he was “fed up” with Trump while comparing him to Russian President Vladimir Putin — says the U.K. will not be part of U.S. operation.
“We will not be involved in blockade of the Strait,” Starmer said today. “We are urgently working with France, Spain, and other partners to put together a wide coalition to protect the freedom of navigation. U.S. cannot dictate how other should manage their affairs.”
“The ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz is deeply damaging. Getting global shipping moving is vital to ease cost of living pressures,” Starmer posted on X. The U.K. has convened more than 40 nations who share our aim to restore freedom of navigation. This week the UK and France will co-host a summit to advance work on a coordinated, independent, multinational plan to safeguard international shipping when the conflict ends.”
“What we’ve been doing over the past few weeks is bringing countries together to keep the straits open, not shut,” Starmer said in an interview with BBC radio. “We’re not supporting the blockade. And all of the marshaling, diplomatically, politically, and capability, we do have minesweeping capability … that’s all focused, from our point of view, on getting the straits fully open.”
Starmer has been increasingly critical of Trump, last week telling Britain’s ITV, “I’m fed up with the fact that families across the country see their bills go up and down on energy, businesses’ bills go up and down on energy because of the actions of Putin or Trump across the world.”
“I’m very disappointed,” Trump said of the reluctance of NATO allies to get involved in the war. “I mean, look at the United Kingdom. I love the United Kingdom. My mother was, as you know, born in Scotland, and love it,” Trump said on Fox, “But Mr. Starmer, P.M. Starmer said, we will send the equipment after the war is over.”
“That’s a Neville Chamberlain-type statement,” Trump said. “We have to reexamine NATO, because they weren’t there for us,” Trump told Bartiromo. “I have said this for 25 years. They weren’t there for us, and they won’t be there for us.”
TRUMP ANNOUNCES US IS ‘STARTING THE PROCESS OF CLEARING OUT’ STRAIT OF HORMUZ
Good Monday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Christopher Tremoglie. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com.
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HAPPENING TODAY: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth meets with Indonesian Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin at 10:15 this morning. In what used to be standard procedure, but was ended shortly after Hegseth took office, the Pentagon is allowing a “selection of journalists” to cover the “opening remarks,” as the two defense leaders meet in Hegseth’s conference room.
But reporters are banned from bringing “personal electronic devices,” including their personal phones. Only a “stand-alone camera” will be permitted to record the event, which will presumably be provided to reporters via a pool.
POPE LEO XIV: ‘I HAVE NO FEAR OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’: President Trump is in a running war of words with Pope Leo XIV, the first American pontiff, and a critic of those who go to war in God’s name.
“Those who pray are aware of their own limitations; they do not kill or threaten with death,” Leo posted on X yesterday. “Instead, death enslaves those who have turned their backs on the living God, turning themselves and their own power into a mute, blind and deaf idol.”
“Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life,” the Pope said.
Although no one was named, Trump took it personally.
“Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. It’s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church!,” Trump posted in a lengthy rant on Truth Social. “I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA. He gets it, and Leo doesn’t!”
“I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our Country,” Trump said. “And I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do.”
“I have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the Church is here to do,” Pope Leo told journalists on the papal plane to Algeria. “We are not politicians. We don’t deal with foreign policy with the same perspective he might understand it, but I do believe in the message of the Gospel, as a peacemaker.”
Trump said it’s only because of him that Leo is the pope. “[He] was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump. If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.”
Last night, Trump posted an image of himself as a Christ-like figure healing the sick.
POPE LEO SLAMS ‘DEMONIC CYCLE OF EVIL’ BEHIND IRAN WAR DURING SERMON
THE RUNDOWN:
Washington Examiner: US and Iran fail to strike peace deal after lengthy talks, Vance says
Washington Examiner: Trump to impose naval blockade in Strait of Hormuz to stop Iranian ‘world extortion’
Washington Examiner: Trump announces US is ‘starting the process of clearing out’ Strait of Hormuz
Washington Examiner: Trump says Iran hasn’t stopped negotiating, will give US ‘everything we want’
Washington Examiner: Revealed: The six US red lines in talks with Iran
Washington Examiner: Trump says gas prices could be higher by November after Iran blockade
Washington Examiner: Trump ally Orbán concedes ‘painful’ loss to opposition leader in Hungarian election
Washington Examiner: China to deliver new air defense systems to Iran in coming weeks
Washington Examiner: Nikki Haley says Trump should skip Xi meeting if China continues aiding Iran
Washington Examiner: China to halt export of sulfuric acid as world faces fertilizer shortage from Hormuz blockade: Report
Washington Examiner: Cuba’s president says ‘if we need to die, we’ll die’ to stop US invasion
Washington Examiner: Trump criticizes Pope Leo as ‘weak on crime’ and ‘terrible on foreign policy’
Washington Examiner: Pope Leo slams ‘demonic cycle of evil’ behind Iran war during sermon
Washington Examiner: Rubio terminates green cards of three Iranian nationals tied to ‘Screaming Mary’
Washington Examiner: Republicans pivot back to taxes after Iran ceasefire, eye midterm election reset
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Fatal Lifeline: Why a deal with Tehran is a trap for Trump
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Turkey is testing NATO’s limits and exposing its weakness
Washington Examiner: Opinion: The era of amateur Vaticanology dawns in the United States
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Iran stands victorious — for now
Wall Street Journal: The U.S. Sank One of Iran’s Navies. The Other Still Controls Hormuz.
Defense Scoop: Navy to Use Underwater Drones to Help Clear Iranian Mines from Strait of Hormuz
New York Times: Iran Unable to Find Mines It Planted in Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Says
Wall Street Journal: Iran Has Thousands of Missiles and Could Retrieve Launchers, U.S. Intelligence Finds
Washington Post: U.S. missile burn rate in Iran leaves the Pacific cupboard bare
Wall Street Journal: Trump Weighs Limited Strikes Against Iran After Peace Talks Collapse
The War Zone: KC-135 with Battle Damage Seen Covered in Shrapnel Patches Landing in UK
New York Times: Mutually Automated Destruction: The Escalating Global AI Arms Race
AP: Orthodox Easter truce falters as Ukraine says Russia continues drone strikes
AP: Pope Leo XIV blasts ‘delusion of omnipotence’ fueling the US-Israeli war in Iran
New York Post: Trump tells The Post he’s preparing military if Iran fails to comply in talks: ‘We’re loading up the ships’
AP: UK puts Chagos Islands handover deal on hold after Trump withdraws support
Business Insider: Russia’s Air Force Is Much More Dangerous Now Than It Was Before It Invaded Ukraine, Airpower Experts Warn
Foreign Policy: Hegseth’s Divine War
The Atlantic: Pete Hegseth Is Trying to Resegregate the Military
Air & Space Forces Magazine: How Vandenberg’s Range Is Scaling to Meet Launch Demand
Breaking Defense: Space Force Programs Supporting Golden Dome See big FY27 Budget Boost
The Hill: FAA, Pentagon Declare Antidrone Laser System Safe After El Paso Airport Shutdown
Air & Space Forces Magazine: USAFA Names New Commandant of Cadets as Leadership Shakeup Continues
Air & Space Forces Magazine: AFCENT to Spend up to $270 Million on Ultra-Long Range ISR Drones
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Mini Nuclear Reactors May Be Coming to Buckley, Malmstrom by 2030
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Air Force Invites AI Firms to Build up to 12 Data Centers on Three Alaska Bases
DefenseScoop: DOD Officially Launches New Economic Defense Unit to Mesh Military Aims with Global Financial Sway
THE CALENDAR:
MONDAY | APRIL 13
10:15 a.m. Pentagon River Entrance — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth welcomes Indonesian Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin to the Pentagon
12 p.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW — Brookings Institution discussion: “Rebalancing world order in an age of fragmentation,” with Finnish President Alexander Stubb https://www.brookings.edu/events/rebalancing-world-order
1 p.m. Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “Are We in a New Era of Securing Strategic Infrastructure?” with Alexander Benard, co-head of Cerberus Frontier and senior managing director, Cerberus Capital Management; Carlos Ruiz-Hernandez, non-resident senior adviser, CSIS Americas Program; and Romina Bandura, senior fellow, CSIS Project on Prosperity and Development https://www.csis.org/events/are-we-new-era-securing-strategic-infrastructure
5 p.m. 1957 E St. NW — George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs Sigur Center for Asian Studies discussion: “China’s Reimagined Future,” with Elizabeth Economy, senior fellow and co-chair, Hoover Institution Program on the U.S., China and the World and former senior adviser for China at the Commerce Department; Alyssa Ayres, dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs; and Bruce Dickson, director, Sigur Center for Asian Studies and GWU professor of political science and international Affairs https://sigur.elliott.gwu.edu/2026/03/26/04-13-26-2026-gaston-sigur-memorial-lecture
TUESDAY | APRIL 14
6 p.m. 37th and O Sts. NW — Georgetown University School of Public Policy discussion: “The state of U.S. foreign policy, international coalitions and what role the United Nations can play in an America First policy,” with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mile Waltz https://events.georgetown.edu/event/
WEDNESDAY | APRIL 15
10 a.m. 419 Dirksen — Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing: “Reforming the UN: Assessing U.S. Efforts and Priorities,” with testimony from U.S. Representative to the United Nations Mike Waltz; and U.S. Representative to the United Nations for U.N. Management and Reform Jeff Bartos http://foreign.senate.gov
10 a.m. 2362-B Rayburn — House Appropriations Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing: “Budget Hearing – Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation,” with testimony from Lt. Gen. William “Butch” Graham, chief of engineers and commanding general, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Adam Telle, assistant secretary of the Army for civil works; and Andrea Travnicek, assistant Interior secretary for water and science, http://appropriations.house.gov
10:15 a.m. 210 Cannon House — House Budget Committee hearing: “The President’s FY2027 Budget Request,” with testimony from OMB Director Russell Vought https://budget.house.gov
1 p.m. Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies virtual discussion: “Foreign Influence Operations and National Security,” with Margaret Harker, litigator and former attorney for the Justice Department; Park MacDougald, writer and editor for Tablet Magazine; and Vince Vitkowsky, fellow, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School National Security Institute https://fedsoc.org/events/foreign-influence-operations-and-national-security
3 p.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee hearing: “FY27 Missile Defense and Missile Defeat Programs and Activities,” with testimony from Marc Berkowitz, assistant secretary of defense for space policy; Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander, U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command; Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein, direct report program manager for Golden Dome for America; Air Force Lt. Gen. Heath Collins, director, Missile Defense Agency; and Army Lt. Gen. Sean Gainey, commanding general, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command https://armedservices.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=6463
3:30 p.m. 2212 Rayburn — House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee hearing: “Military Readiness for FY2027,” with testimony from Gen. Christopher LaNeve, vice chief of staff of the Army; Adm. James Kilby, vice chief of naval operations; Gen. John Lamontagne, vice chief of staff of the Air Force; Gen. Bradford Gering, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps; and Gen. Shawn Bratton, vice chief of space operations for the Space Force, http://www.armedservices.house.gov
THURSDAY | APRIL 16
8:30 a.m. 37th and O Sts. NW — Georgetown University School of Foreign Service Asian Studies Program conference: “Japan: Contending with Change at Home and Abroad,” with former national security adviser Jake Sullivan https://events.georgetown.edu/event/39482-japan-contending-with-change
10 a.m. 608 Dirksen — Senate Budget Committee hearing: “The President’s FY2027 Budget Proposal,” with testimony from OMB Director Russell Vought http://budget.senate.gov
11 a.m. 390 Cannon — House (Select) Strategic Competition Between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party Committee hearing: “China’s Campaign to Steal America’s AI Edge.” https://selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov
3 p.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee hearing: “Military Department Personnel Chiefs: Personnel Posture,” with testimony from Army Lt. Gen. Brian Eifler, deputy chief of staff, G-1; Air Force Lt. Gen. Caroline Miller, deputy chief of staff for manpower and personnel; Navy Vice Adm. Jeffrey Czerewko, chief of naval personnel; Marine Corps Lt. Gen. William Bowers, deputy commandant manpower and reserve affairs; and Katharine Kelley, Air Force deputy chief of space operations for personnel, http://www.armedservices.house.gov
3:30 p.m. 2212 Rayburn — House Armed Services Intelligence and Special Operations Subcommittee hearing: “Defense Intelligence Enterprise – Challenges, Priorities, and Resourcing for FY2027,” with testimony from Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security Bradley Hansell; Gen. Joshua Rudd, director and commander, National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command; Lt. Gen. Michele Bredenkamp, director, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency; and Lt. Gen. James Adams, director, Defense Intelligence Agency http://www.armedservices.house.gov
FRIDAY | APRIL 17
9:30 a.m. 2212 Rayburn — House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing: “Budget Hearing – National Guard and Reserves Forces,” with testimony from Lt. Gen. Leonard Anderson, commander, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve; Lt. Gen. Robert Harter, chief of Army Reserve and commanding general of the U.S. Army Reserve Command; Lt. Gen. John Healy, chief of Air Force Reserve; Rear Adm. Richard Lofgren, acting chief of Navy Reserve; and Gen. Steven Nordhaus, chief of the National Guard Bureau http://appropriations.house.gov
10 a.m. — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace virtual discussion: “The U.S. and Israel’s War With Iran: Where Do We Go From Here?” with Suzanna Maloney, vice president and director, Brookings Institution Foreign Policy Program; Danny Citrinowicz, senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies Iran and the Shi’ite Axis Program; and Aaron David Miller, senior fellow, CEIP American Statecraft Program https://carnegieendowment.org/events/2026/04/us-and-israels-war-with-iran 10 a.m. — National Institute for Deterrence Studies virtual seminar: “Readiness, Resilience, and Credibility: The ICBM Mission Today,” with Maj. Gen. Stacy Jo Huser, commander, 20th Air Force https://thinkdeterrence.com/events/readiness-resilience-and-credibility
