A day after failed peace negotiations between the United States and Iran in Islamabad, President Donald Trump said the U.S. Navy will start blockading the Strait of Hormuz.
In back-to-back posts made to social media early Sunday, April 12, Trump said the United States will also interdict every vessel in international waters that had paid a toll to Iran to pass through the critical shipping route.
“No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “We will also begin destroying the mines the Iranians laid in the Straits. Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!”
A blockade, which Trump described as “effective immediately,” would be a significant escalation in the Persian Gulf, coming mere hours after U.S.-Iran peace talks ended without a deal. The U.S. and Iran have been in a tenuous, two-week ceasefire that began April 7.
Trump says ‘complete blockade’ will be effective ‘pretty soon’
Vice President JD Vance said the United States was unable to reach an agreement to end the war in Iran after a marathon meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan, that saw U.S. and Iranian officials meet face-to-face, the first peace talks between the two nations in 47 years. Trump said in one of his April 12 Truth Social posts that the meeting “went well” and that “most points were agreed to,” except the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.
In an interview with Fox News’ program “Sunday Morning Futures” about an hour after his social media posts, Trump spoke about the blockade’s timeline, offering little clarity as to when it will go into effect. He told host Maria Bartiromo it will be a “complete blockade” and it “will take a little while, but it’ll be effective pretty soon.”
The president also said in the 30-minute interview that “numerous countries” will be helping with the blockade, but did not specify which nations will assist and how.
When asked about the possible presence of mines placed in the strait by Iran, Trump said the United States has minesweepers in the area now, suggesting they will be able to knock out the underwater explosives.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump’s announcement latest in tensions over Strait of Hormuz
Trump had said in a social media post on Saturday, April 11, before the talks began, that the United States is “clearing out” the Strait of Hormuz, though Trump and other officials did not release any specific timeline or details of the reopening. The 100-mile-long waterway connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Prior to the war, roughly 20% of the world’s oil and natural gas supply passed through the narrow channel.
The concept of tolls has become a contentious issue as the United States and Iran continue to tussle over the strait, which Iran has effectively closed since the joint U.S.-Israeli war began more than six weeks ago. Its closure has left hundreds of tankers trapped in the Gulf, roiled global markets and led to a surge in energy prices across the globe.
In negotiations, Tehran has demanded control of the Strait of Hormuz, a ceasefire across the region and the release of its frozen assets abroad, according to Iranian state TV and officials, Reuters reported. Tehran has also raised collecting transit fees for ships passing through the waterway.
Trump has previously said he would oppose any Iran-controlled tolls placed on ships allowed to pass through the chokepoint, and has floated the idea of the United States, instead, charging tolls.
Reuters reported three supertankers fully laden with oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz on April 11, citing shipping data, in what appeared to be the first vessels to exit the Gulf since the ceasefire deal began last week.
Reporting by Kathryn Palmer, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
