US President Donald Trump on Sunday announced that his country’s navy will “begin the process of blockading” any and all Ships trying to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz.
This comes after talks between the US and Iran in Pakistan failed to reach an agreement, with both delegations blaming each other for the failure.
Trump sought to exert strategic control over the waterway responsible for the transportation of 20 per cent of global oil supplies before the war, hoping to take away Iran’s key source of economic leverage in the fighting.
“So, there you have it, the meeting went well, most points were agreed to, but the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not. 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 said in a Truth Social post.
Trump called Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz “world extortion”, saying that no one who pays an “illegal toll” to Iran will have safe passage on the high seas.
“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. I have also instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran. No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas,” he added.
Trump also said the US was ready to “finish up” Iran at the “appropriate moment,” stressing that Tehran’s nuclear ambitions were at the core of the failure to end the war.
Iran’s Strait of Hormuz closure
Iran had effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz for weeks, since the United States and Israel launched a bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic more than six weeks ago. On Saturday, the US military announced that two US warships had transited the strait at the start of a mine clearance operation.
The closure has resulted in unprecedented supply disruption. Its reopening has been a crucial point of discussion during weekend negotiations in Islamabad, but remains an area of disagreement.
In recent weeks, several ships have attempted to transit the strait only to abort their efforts, reflecting a constantly changing security situation and persistently high risks.
Two empty crude tankers attempted to make their way through the Strait of Hormuz and into the Persian Gulf on Sunday, only to make last-minute U-turns just as peace negotiations between the US and Iran broke down, threatening a fragile ceasefire.
