In a dramatic escalation of tensions, Donald Trump has announced that the United States will block any vessel entering or leaving Iranian ports, a move that threatens to plunge the Strait of Hormuz into a full-blown maritime crisis just hours after diplomatic talks between the two nations ended in failure.
US president vows to halt all shipping to and from Iran
The US president declared on his Truth Social platform that the measures would take effect at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on April 13. Shortly beforehand, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed its intention to impose a comprehensive naval blockade on Iran, stressing that the restrictions would apply to all vessels, regardless of flag state, if they enter or leave Iranian ports.
On April 12, Trump said the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would begin after key agreements with Iran fell through. He has ordered the US navy to track and detain ships in international waters that pay duties to Tehran, and to destroy any mines in the area.
The US president separately argued that free passage through the strait had become impossible because of Iran’s stance, accusing Tehran of citing a supposed mine threat – a pretext he dismissed as “worldwide blackmail.” Trump also claimed that the US fleet has already been placed on a war footing.
Iran’s IRGC threatens “harsh and decisive” retaliation
In response, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned that any approach by military vessels towards the strait would be treated as a violation of the ceasefire regime and would be met with harsh and decisive force.
The weekend talks in Islamabad marked the first direct US-Iranian negotiations in more than a decade, but they failed to produce a breakthrough. After the meeting, US vice-president JD Vance, who headed the American delegation, said: “The bad news is that we didn’t reach a deal, and I think that’s much worse news for Iran than it is for the United States.”
Nuclear enrichment and proxy funding remain key sticking points
Iran rejected US demands to halt uranium enrichment, dismantle all major enrichment facilities and hand over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. The two sides also failed to agree on Washington’s demands for Iran to stop funding Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, and to fully reopen the strait.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that “excessive” US demands had prevented an agreement. Other Iranian media outlets said that while some progress had been made on a number of issues, the main stumbling blocks remained the situation in the strait and Iran’s nuclear programme.
