President Donald Trump announced Sunday that the United States will begin a sweeping naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, citing ongoing tensions with Iran and what he described as efforts by the Iranian government to impose unlawful restrictions on global shipping.
In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump said the U.S. Navy would take immediate action to control access to the strategic waterway, which has long been a critical route for global oil shipments.
“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,” Trump declared.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints, with more than one-fifth of global seaborne oil supply historically passing through it.
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In recent months, tensions in the region have increased, with Iran reportedly using drones and missiles to deter vessels from traveling through the area.
Trump described Iran’s actions as an attempt to control access to the strait through threats and fees imposed on ships.
“At some point, we will reach an ‘ALL BEING ALLOWED TO GO IN, ALL BEING ALLOWED TO GO OUT’ basis, but Iran has not allowed that to happen by merely saying, ‘There may be a mine out there somewhere,’ that nobody knows about but them,” Trump said.
He added, “THIS IS WORLD EXTORTION, and Leaders of Countries, especially the United States of America, will never be extorted.”
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The president also warned that vessels complying with what he described as illegal payments to Iran would not be protected.
“No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas,” Trump said.
U.S. officials have said Iran has claimed to place mines in the strait but has not maintained control over their locations. Authorities have also indicated that Iran has attempted to charge a toll of $1 per barrel of oil for ships seeking safe passage through the waterway.
According to officials, Iran has sought to use those funds to rebuild infrastructure following recent military operations, including Operation Epic Fury.
Trump also announced that U.S. forces would begin clearing the mines.
Trump said the United States will “begin destroying the mines the Iranians laid in the Straits” and warned that any hostile action by Iranian vessels would be met with force, stating any Iranian ship that fires at the U.S. will be “BLOWN TO HELL.”
The announcement comes days after U.S. officials engaged in high-level negotiations with Iranian representatives aimed at reaching a broader agreement to reduce hostilities.
Those talks, which took place in Islamabad, Pakistan, were led by Vice President J.D. Vance and lasted nearly 21 hours.
Despite the extended discussions, no agreement was reached.
Vance stated following the talks that “we have not reached an agreement,” as U.S. officials departed the negotiations. Few details of the discussions were released publicly.
Trump indicated that some progress had been made but said key issues remained unresolved.
“In many ways, the points that were agreed to are better than us continuing our Military Operations to conclusion, but all of those points don’t matter compared to allowing Nuclear Power to be in the hands of such volatile, difficult, unpredictable people,” Trump wrote.
“That doesn’t matter because they were very unyielding as to the single most important issue,” he added.
Earlier in the week, Trump had announced a temporary cease-fire with Iran, describing it as a “fragile” two-week arrangement following escalating threats.
He had warned prior to that announcement that “an entire civilization will die tonight” if Iran did not reach an agreement.
The situation remains fluid as U.S. forces begin implementing the blockade and related operations in the Strait of Hormuz.
Officials have not provided additional details on the scope or duration of the blockade, but the move marks a significant escalation in efforts to control maritime activity in the region.
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