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By Hugh Cameron
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President Donald Trump has announced that the U.S. will be imposing its own blockade on Iranian shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, the vital shipping corridor that remains largely closed despite the ceasefire recently struck with Iran.
"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," the president posted on Truth Social on Sunday morning.
Why It Matters
Trump’s post marks a significant reescalation in the conflict, and comes after talks between U.S. and Iranian officials in Pakistan, at which the two sides failed to reach a deal that would end hostilities or reinforce the ceasefire agreement announced on Tuesday.
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On Sunday, Trump said that the meeting "went well," but that the pair had not come to an agreement on "the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR," and called its blockade of the Hormuz Strait "WORLD EXTORTION."
What To Know
Earlier, President Donald Trump tacitly endorsed the idea of the U.S. imposing a naval blockade against Iran if the country failed to abide by its terms of the ceasefire reached early this week. He shared a piece of analysis on Truth Social, published by the digital news website JustTheNews.com, which argued that the U.S. could reprise a strategy used before the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, by restricting the country’s maritime exports and imports to “choke an already teetering Iranian economy.”
Since the announcement of the truce, there have emerged substantial disagreements between the two nations regarding its terms as well as accusations of violations from both sides.
Trump said that the suspension of U.S. strikes would require the “COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz,” a vital maritime corridor the closure of which has sent global oil prices soaring. But Iran’s military continues to block most transits through the shipping lane, while maintaining that ongoing Israeli bombardments against targets in Lebanon violate one of its own conditions for a ceasefire.
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The article reposted by Trump cited several experts who argued that the U.S. Navy would be able to restrict Iran’s maritime oil exports—"out-blockade Iran’s hold over the Strait of Hormuz”—to place pressure on the country’s negotiators if they continue to reject the U.S.’ terms for a peace deal. Part of this strategy could involve the U.S. occupying the island of Kharg, through which the vast majority of Iran’s oil exports pass.
“If the war resumes and after we degrade Iran’s remaining military assets sufficiently, the U.S. military could choose to occupy Kharg—or to destroy it,” military strategist and retired General Jack Keane wrote in a column for the New York Post this week. “Alternatively, the U.S. Navy could set up a blockade, shutting down Tehran’s export lifeline.”
“If we preserve Kharg’s infrastructure, but take physical control, we’d have a chokehold over Iran’s oil and its economy,” Keane added.
On Sunday morning, Trump said Iran's failure to reopen the Hormuz Strait "caused anxiety, dislocation, and pain to many people and Countries throughout the World," and that the planting of mines in the waterway constituted an act of "WORLD EXTORTION."
The president went on to warn that he had instructed the Navy to "seek and interdict" vessels from any country that had paid the toll Iran imposed for safe passage through the Hormuz Strait.
"No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas. We will also begin destroying the mines the Iranians laid in the Straits," he wrote. "Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL! Iran knows, better than anyone, how to END this situation which has already devastated their Country."
What People Are Saying
President Trump's post on Sunday read: "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. They say they put mines in the water, even though all of their Navy, and most of their 'mine droppers,' have been completely blown up. They may have done so, but what ship owner would want to take the chance? There is great dishonor and permanent harm to the reputation of Iran, and what’s left of their 'Leaders,' but we are beyond all of that. As they promised, they better begin the process of getting this INTERNATIONAL WATERWAY OPEN AND FAST!"
National security analyst Rebecca Grant told JustTheNews.com: “It would be very easy for the U.S. Navy to exert complete control over what does and does not go up and down the strait now. I've heard about 10 ships have moved in the last 24 hours. One of them was a reflagged Russian tanker, and we know that cargoes have gone out to China, to India, and we've seen some inbound traffic.”
“If Iran gets intransigent, then absolutely, the U.S. Navy can set up with great overwater surveillance…and watch everything that goes in and out of that strait and you'll have to ask the U.S. Navy if you want to move past Kharg Island or past that narrow part by Oman,” Grant added.
Vice President JD Vance, following the negotiations in Pakistan, told a press conference: "We have been at it now for 21 hours, and 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. And I think that's bad news for Iran much more than it's bad news for the United States of America."
What Happens Next
The Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who was party to the talks in Pakistan, said that the U.S. had “ultimately failed to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations.”
But Vance said the U.S. had not received firm commitments on its central priority, namely that Iran “will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon.”
Prior to the negotiations, Trump had warned that the U.S. was “ready to go,” and told the New York Post that U.S. warships were being restocked to resume strikes on the country if these fell short of a substantive agreement.
Trump said on Sunday that the U.S. military was "fully 'LOCKED AND LOADED,'" and prepared to "finish up the little that is left of Iran!"
Update 4/12/26 9:30 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information, following Trump's announcement that the U.S. Navy would be imposing a blockade.
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