US military prepares to blockade Iran’s ports as shipping stops in crucial strait
Sammy Magdy
Updated ,first published
Cairo: The US military said it would blockade all Iranian ports and coastal areas in the coming hours, softening President Donald Trump’s earlier promise to completely close the Strait of Hormuz; because initial reports showed that ships had stopped passing the strategic waterway.
The move comes after protracted US-Iran ceasefire talks in Pakistan ended without an agreement, paving the way for a showdown. Iranian leaders have vowed to oppose the blockade.
US Central Command announced that the blockade would begin at 10am US time (midnight AEST) on Monday and would be “enforced on a neutral basis against ships of all nations entering or exiting Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports in the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.”
The US said it would allow ships traveling between ports outside Iran to pass through the strait; This was a step back from the president’s earlier threat to blockade the entire canal.
Trump confirmed his timing in a post on the Truth Social website, having previously warned that “any Iranian who fires at us or peaceful ships will fly to hell.”
He said peace talks in Islamabad over the weekend were going “well” but failed to reach agreement on the key issue of Iran’s nuclear programme.
An Iranian Armed Forces spokesman said any US restrictions on ships in international waters were illegal and “tantamount to piracy” and said Iran would decisively implement a “permanent mechanism” to control the Strait of Hormuz following American threats.
According to Lloyd’s List intelligence, the blockade announcement stopped the limited maritime traffic that had resumed in the strait since the ceasefire. Maritime trackers said more than 40 merchant ships had transited since the beginning of the ceasefire, a number that had fallen from about 100 to 135 a day before the war.
Later on Sunday (US time), Trump further expanded his hostility over the war with Pope Leo XIV, accusing the Catholic leader of being “terrible on foreign policy” in a post on Truth Social. The extraordinary event came after Leo condemned the war and asked political leaders to stop and negotiate peace.
The president followed his attack with another Truth Social post of an AI-generated image of Jesus seemingly healing the sick, with American warplanes flying above.
Pope Leo XIV later opposed Trump, saying the Vatican’s calls for peace and reconciliation were based on the Bible and that he was not afraid of the Trump administration.
“To equate my message with what the president is trying to do here is to fail to understand what the message of the Gospel is,” Leo told The Associated Press on the papal plane. “And I’m sorry to hear that, but today I will continue what I believe is the mission of the church in the world.”
The first US-born pope in history emphasized that he was not making a direct attack on Trump or anyone else with his call for general peace and criticism of the “illusion of omnipotence” that has fueled the Iranian wars and other conflicts around the world.
Blockade could have far-reaching effects
The blockade is likely intended to put pressure on Iran, which has exported millions of barrels of oil since the start of the war, much of it transported by so-called “dark” tankers that evade Western sanctions.
Trump hopes to weaken Tehran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of global oil passed before the war began. The US blockade could further shake global energy markets.
Oil prices rose in early trading following the blockade announcement. While the price of US crude oil increased by 8 percent to $104.24 per barrel, Brent crude oil, the international standard, increased by 7 percent to $102.29. The price of Brent crude oil was around $70 per barrel before the war in late February.
Meanwhile, a chorus of senior Iranian officials have threatened retaliation. Mohsen Rezaei, a military advisor and former Revolutionary Guard commander, wrote in X that the country’s armed forces have “significant levers untouched” to counter any blockade.
He said Iran would not be pressured by “tweets and imaginary plans”.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammed Bagir Galibaf, who took Iran’s side in the talks, said to Trump upon his return to Iran, “If you fight, we will fight too.”
The Revolutionary Guard later said the strait remained under Tehran’s “full control” and was open to commercial ships, but that military ships would receive a “strong response,” two semi-official Iranian news agencies reported.
In 21-hour talks held in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad this weekend, the US military said that two destroyers passed through the strait before mine-clearing work, a first since the start of the war. Iran denied this.
The face-to-face talks over the weekend were the highest-level talks between the long-time rivals since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
nuclear barrier
Trump said the main reason the talks failed was Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, and in a statement to Fox News, he threatened to hit civilian infrastructure if Iran did not give up its nuclear program.
“In half a day, not a single bridge will be standing, not a single power generation facility will be standing, and they will go back to the stone age,” Trump said.
Vice President J.D. Vance, who heads the American delegation in Islamabad, said Washington needed “a positive commitment not to seek nuclear weapons.”
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Iranian negotiators could not accept all US “red lines” because they were not authorized to disclose positions on the record.
These red lines included that Iran never obtain a nuclear weapon, stop enriching uranium, dismantle enrichment facilities and allow the recovery of highly enriched uranium, open the Strait of Hormuz, and end funding for Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthi rebels.
Iranian officials said the talks failed because of two or three important issues and that the reason was excessive American interference. Noting that progress has been made in the negotiations, Galibaf said that it is time for the United States to “decide whether it can earn our trust.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed that the United States stopped negotiations when they came within inches of an agreement, but did not provide evidence.
“We encountered maximalism, shifting goalposts and blockade,” he wrote of X.
Neither Iran nor the United States has made a statement about what will happen after the ceasefire ends on April 22.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said his country would try to facilitate a new dialogue in the coming days. Iran said it was open to further talks, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
