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Donald Trump said the US would launch a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz following the failure of negotiators to reach a deal with Iranian officials in marathon talks in Pakistan over the weekend.
“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 wrote on Truth Social on Sunday morning.
Trump also said he had asked the US Navy to “interdict” any ship that had paid a toll to Iran for passage through the strategic waterway for oil and gas shipments — meaning the vessels are at risk of being seized by the American military.
“No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas,” Trump wrote.
Trump’s announcement comes as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has emerged as a key sticking point in talks between the US and Iran to turn a two-week ceasefire that began last Tuesday into a more lasting peace.
Iran has been seeking to maintain control over the strategic waterway, including by imposing tolls for passage, while the US has been pleading for Tehran to allow ships to transit without any limitations.
The stand-off over the Strait of Hormuz is a huge source of disruption for global energy markets as it restricts supply and raises the price of oil and gas across the world economy.
Data released in the US on Friday showed consumer price inflation increasing to 3.3 per cent in March, the highest rate in roughly two years, driven by rising petrol prices.
There has been minimal traffic through the Strait of Hormuz since the war began. The FT’s chokepoint tracker, which monitors transits through the Strait based on ships’ transponder signals, has recorded a total of 18 movements out of the Gulf and 18 movements into the Gulf across Saturday and Sunday. On the last Sunday before the war started, 172 total transits were recorded in one day.
Trump’s move to announce a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz threatens to raise tensions between the US and China, a significant buyer of Iranian oil.
It follows unsuccessful efforts by Trump to rally US allies to set up a multinational coalition of military escorts for ships transiting through the Strait, which has frustrated the US president and driven him to lash out at the Nato alliance in recent weeks.
On Saturday, before Trump’s announcement, the US military began efforts to remove mines set by Iran in the Strait.
According to the US Central Command, two US Navy warships passed through the Strait for the first time since the war began in late February as part of what it described as a mission to remove the mines.
Centcom added that more US forces including underwater drones would be part of that effort in the coming days, but has not offered more details.
Iran has denied that any US warships transited through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.
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