US President Donald Trump announced a naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz in a Truth Social post on Sunday, following the failure of US-Iran peace 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,” said Trump. Trump added that he had “instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran.” Trump then threatened retaliation against any Iranian aggression in the Strait, saying, “Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!” The president stated the meeting in Pakistan had gone “well,” while acknowledging that the Iranians had not agreed to any concessions regarding their nuclear program. Pakistan, the country currently leading the mediation efforts, released a statement expressing gratitude to both sides for their willingness to negotiate and urging them to uphold the ceasefire until a deal could be reached. Trump announced that the blockade will “begin shortly,” adding that the US is prepared to continue military action against Iran if necessary. “We are fully LOCKED AND LOADED,” said Trump, “and our Military will finish up the little that is left of Iran!” Trump stated that the US goal is to fully open the Hormuz, reaching a state in which “all” vessels can freely enter or exit the Strait. “THIS IS WORLD EXTORTION,” said Trump, “and Leaders of Countries, especially the United States of America, will never be extorted.” Trump stated that other countries would be involved in the blockade, though he did not specify which ones. He emphasized that the points agreed to during the talks were not enough due to Iran’s refusal to abandon its nuclear ambitions, saying that the agreements “don’t matter compared to allowing Nuclear Power to be in the hands of such volatile, difficult, unpredictable people.” “As I have always said, right from the beginning, and many years ago, IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!” Trump concluded. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responded to Trump’s comments on their official Telegram channel later on Sunday. In the post, the IRGC shared a video that it claimed was drone footage taken when monitoring traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Along with the video, the IRGC claimed that it has full control over traffic through the Strait, with the IRGC Navy warning that “any wrong move will trap the enemy in deadly turbulence in the Strait of Hormuz.” As of Sunday morning, both the US and Iranian delegations left the negotiation table unsatisfied, with Vance claiming the US had been “quite flexible,” and the Iranian team saying the negotiations had been “conducted in an atmosphere of mistrust.” In addition, Turkish media reported that negotiations surrounding certain key topics were so tense – namely, the management of the Strait of Hormuz – that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff nearly came to blows. Alongside nuclear disarmament, the Strait of Hormuz remains at the center of the US-Iran talks. US Navy ships reportedly crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday just as the negotiations kicked off, though Iran has denied the reports and threatened to attack any unauthorized ships in the strait. This comes after Trump said in a Saturday post to Truth Social that the United States has begun the process of clearing underwater mines from the Strait of Hormuz. “We’re now starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz as a favor to Countries all over the World, including China, Japan, South Korea, France, Germany, and many others,” Trump stated, slamming the named nations for not having the “courage or will” to do so themselves.
