Trump threatens Strait of Hormuz blockade
President Donald Trump raised the stakes by saying the US Navy would immediately begin blockading the Strait of Hormuz after protracted talks with Iran failed to reach a deal to end the war, jeopardizing a fragile two-week ceasefire.
Trump also said in a post on Truth Social that the United States would impose a ban on any ship paying tolls to Iran in international waters and begin destroying mines that he said the Iranians had dropped in the strait, which is a choke point for about 20 percent of global energy supplies that Iran blocks.
“Effective immediately, the U.S. Navy, the Best Navy in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKING all Ships attempting to enter or exit the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
“I have also directed our Navy to search and interdict any ship paying tolls to Iran in International Waters. Anyone paying illegal tolls will not have safe passage on the high seas,” Trump added.
“Any Iranian who fires at us or at peaceful ships WILL BE THROWN INTO HELL!” he added.
Face-to-face talks ended after 21 hours early Sunday, leaving doubts about a fragile two-week ceasefire.
Both sides have previously blamed the other for the failure of talks to end six weeks of conflict that has killed thousands of people, disrupted the global economy and soared oil prices.
U.S. officials said the talks collapsed because of what they described as Iran’s refusal to abandon the path to nuclear weapons, while Iranian officials blamed the United States for the breakdown in talks, without specifying the sticking points.
Neither side has given any information about what will happen after the 14-day ceasefire ends on April 22.
Pakistani mediators urged all parties to pursue this.
Both said their positions were clear and put the onus on the other side, underlining how little the gap had narrowed over the course of the negotiations.
“The bad news is that we couldn’t reach an agreement, and I think that’s more bad news for Iran than it is bad news for the United States,” said Vice President J.D. Vance, who led the U.S. delegation during the weekend talks.
“We’ve made it very clear what our red lines are,” Vance added.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqir Qalibaf, who led his country’s delegation along with Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, accused the United States of failing to gain Tehran’s trust despite his team presenting “progressive initiatives.”
“The United States has understood Iran’s logic and principles, and it is time for them to decide whether they can earn our trust,” Qalibaf said on channel X.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said “excessive” US demands were preventing a deal from being reached.
Other Iranian media said that an agreement was reached on some issues, but the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program were the main points of difference.
Since the United States and Israel launched the war on February 28, it has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, 2020 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab countries, and caused lasting damage to the infrastructure of half a dozen Middle Eastern countries.
Iran’s hold on the Strait of Hormuz has largely cut off the Persian Gulf and Iran’s oil and gas exports from the global economy, causing energy prices to rise.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that his country will try to facilitate the establishment of a new dialogue between Iran and the USA in the coming days.
“It is imperative that the parties continue to maintain their determination to cease fire,” Dar said.
The stalemate and Vance’s take-it-or-leave-it offer that Iran end its nuclear program mirrored nuclear talks held in Switzerland in February.
Although Trump has said the next war is meant to force Iran’s leaders to abandon their nuclear ambitions, the positions of both sides in the negotiations have not changed after six weeks of conflict.
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