Updated ,first published
Washington: US President Donald Trump says the US Navy will blockade the Strait of Hormuz following failed peace talks with Iran, warning that any Iranians who try to stop it will be “blown to hell”.
He said the peace talks in Islamabad over the weekend had gone “well” but failed to reach an agreement on the key matter of Iran’s nuclear program.
“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 announced on Truth Social.
“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.
“THIS IS WORLD EXTORTION, and Leaders of Countries, especially the United States of America, will never be extorted.”
The US president said he had instructed the Navy to interdict every vessel in international waters that had paid a toll to Iran, and to destroy any mines laid by Iran in the strait.
“Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!” he said.
While Trump did not indicate that the US was planning to resume strikes against Iran, he warned that the military was “LOCKED AND LOADED” and stood ready to “finish up the little that is left of Iran”.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said US forces would begin the blockade at 10am Monday Washington time (midnight AEST), and it would be enforced against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas.
But ships travelling between non-Iranian ports would still be allowed to transit the strait, CENTCOM said.
That was more nuanced blockade than the full blockade that Trump announced on social media, retired US Navy admiral James Stavridis said on CNN.
He noted it was a risky operation as Iran, despite its depleted military, could still menace ships in the strait using mines or small boats loaded with explosives. “They still have cards to play,” Stavridis said.
A naval blockade is generally considered an act of war. Trump said in his Truth Social post that other countries would participate in the blockade alongside the US.
However, the United Kingdom – which had been putting together a global coalition to contribute to efforts to reopen the strait – quickly indicated it would not be participating in the blockade by sending warships. It is, however, expected to contribute to mine-sweeping.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia had not been requested to assist with the blockade and he did not expect to be asked.
In response to Trump’s announcement of the blockade, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned that military vessels approaching the strait would be considered a ceasefire breach and dealt with “harshly and decisively”.
The blockade announcement halted the limited ship traffic that resumed in the strait since the ceasefire, according to Lloyd’s List intelligence. Marine trackers say over 40 commercial ships have crossed since the start of the ceasefire, down from roughly 100 to 135 per day before the war.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his regime had engaged in good faith talks to end the war but encountered maximalist demands, shifting goalposts and now a blockade.
“Zero lessons earned,” he posted on X. “Good will begets good will. Enmity begets enmity.”
Iran’s powerful parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who attended the negotiations in Pakistan with Araghchi, posted a screenshot of petrol prices in Washington.
“Enjoy the current pump figures,” he said in a post directed at Americans. “With the so-called ‘blockade’, soon you’ll be nostalgic for $4–$5 gas.”
Earlier, negotiating teams ended 21 hours of talks in the Pakistani capital without a deal to bring a permanent end to the war between the US, Israel and Iran, which began on February 28.
A fragile ceasefire began last week, except in Lebanon, where Israel continues to strike targets associated with Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy.
US Vice President JD Vance, who led the US delegation in Islamabad, said the failure to reach an agreement was “bad news”, especially for Iran.
“The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon,” he said.
On Sunday, Trump predicted Iran would return to the negotiating table. “Nobody can be so stupid as to say, ‘We want nuclear weapons,’ and they have no cards,” he told Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures.
“I predict they come back and they give us everything we want. I want everything … They have no cards.”
Trump also repeated his threat to resume strikes on Iran, claiming he “could take out Iran in one day” and would target Iran’s energy infrastructure.
“In one hour, I could have their entire energy, everything, every one of their plants, their electric generating plants, which is a big deal. And I hate to do it, because if I do it, it takes you 10 years to rebuild, they’ll never be able to rebuild it. And the other thing you take out are the bridges,” he said.
While the talks in Pakistan were taking place, CENTCOM said two US Navy destroyers were transiting the strait to ensure it was free of mines previously laid by the IRGC.
Traffic through the crucial sea passage came to a halt during the war amid the possible presence of mines and Iranian drone attacks. A fifth of the world’s oil ordinarily moves through the strait, and its de facto closure has contributed to skyrocketing oil prices internationally.
With Reuters, AP
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Michael Koziol is the North America correspondent for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political reporter in Canberra.Connect via X or email.
