U.S. President Donald Trump told his aides to prepare for an extended U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, The Wall Street Journal reported, as the U.S. looks to intensify economic pressure on Iran as the war enters its third month.
The president, in meetings with top aides, decided to continue putting pressure on Iran’s ability to export oil by stopping any vessel heading to or from the Islamic Republic’s ports, the newspaper reported on Tuesday night. Trump determined that was a less risky option than resuming bombing or extracting the U.S. from the conflict entirely, the outlet said.
The decision suggests that the U.S. could be moving into a lengthy period with the fighting largely halted, but no durable resolution to the conflict, and the status of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz still uncertain.
