Donald Trump
Olamilekan Abayomi
President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that the U.S. Navy will immediately begin a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz after high-level peace talks with Iran in Pakistan collapsed over Tehran’s nuclear program. In a Truth Social post and a “Sunday Morning Futures” interview, Trump called it a sweeping “all-or-nothing” blockade, vowing that “any and all ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz” would be blocked.
Trump said the action was prompted by Iran’s refusal to concede on nuclear issues during weekend negotiations. Though “most points were agreed to,” he wrote, “the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not”. He accused Iran of “WORLD EXTORTION” for imposing what he described as a $2 million toll on each oil tanker transiting the strait and said the U.S. would interdict vessels in international waters that paid the fee. “No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas,” he warned.
The blockade order is broader than just the strait itself. Trump instructed the Navy to “seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran” and to begin clearing mines he says Iran placed in the waterway. He added that “any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL” and claimed the U.S. is “fully LOCKED AND LOADED”. U.S. Central Command said the blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports would start at 10 a.m. ET Monday, but added it would not impede vessels transiting to non-Iranian ports.
The move follows a fragile two-week ceasefire reached on Tuesday in which Iran had agreed to the “COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz”. Vice President JD Vance said talks broke down Saturday when Iran refused to budge on its nuclear program. Trump compared the new policy to U.S. actions against Venezuela, saying it would be “something very similar to that but at a higher level.
Iran rejected the U.S. threats. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officials said they still control the strait and “will not yield to US threats”. Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf warned, “If you fight, we’ll fight”. The IRGC also posted a video of vessels in crosshairs, threatening to trap enemies in a “deadly vortex.
Allies have given a muted response. The UK ruled out joining the naval blockade Sunday night, straining relations after Trump suggested “numerous countries” would help. Germany’s defense minister said, “This is not our war, we have not started it,” and noted Washington had stated European assistance was “neither necessary nor desired” at the outset. Trump nonetheless said “many countries” would send warships, naming China, France, Japan, South Korea, and the UK.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most critical energy choke points, carrying roughly 20 million barrels of oil a day and about one-fifth of global liquefied natural gas. Iran had blocked the strait since U.S. and Israeli strikes began, and only a trickle of traffic — mainly Iranian — has moved through since early April. Analysts said Trump’s threat pushed Brent crude to $102.80 in early Asian trade, up about 8%.
Trump framed the blockade as “escalate to de-escalate,” predicting Iran would return to the table because the regime has “no cards”. He said oil prices “are going to come tumbling down as soon as it’s over, and it’s going to be over pretty quick”. For now, the U.S. Navy is preparing to enforce the blockade while Iran vows defiance, leaving the vital waterway at the center of a new standoff.
