Trump says US will ‘blockade’ Strait of Hormuz after no peace deal reached.
- The San Juan Daily Star
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
By KATIE ROGERS, TYLER PAGER, AARON BOXERMAN and ISABEL KERSHNER
President Donald Trump said Sunday that the United States will blockade the Strait of Hormuz, stepping up pressure on Iran after marathon peace talks between top Iranian and American leaders in Pakistan ended without a breakthrough.
The announcement by Trump plunged the already brittle truce into further uncertainty. Vice President JD Vance and the chief Iranian negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, met in Pakistan over the weekend, but did not reach a deal to fully reopen the strait or conclusively end the war.
“Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!” Trump said on social media of his planned naval blockade.
It was not immediately clear whether the threat would endanger the two-week ceasefire reached on April 7. The Iran’s Revolutionary Guard naval force claimed the strait was not closed, but said that any approach to the waterway by warships would be considered a ceasefire violation and warrant a “severe response.”
Trump had conditioned the pause on Iran fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for oil and gas in the Persian Gulf. His blockade threat came hours after Vance said the talks in Islamabad — the highest-level face-to-face encounter between U.S. and Iranian leaders since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution — had ended with Iran choosing “not to accept our terms.” Ghalibaf said on social media that the United States had been “unable to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation” in this round of talks.
Analysts said the issues dividing the two countries were so complex — and their differences so entrenched — that cinching a deal in a single round of talks had been highly unlikely. The key differences center on the fate of nearly 900 pounds of highly enriched uranium, frozen Iranian revenues held abroad, and the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil passes.
Iran’s grip on the strait sent global oil prices soaring by more than 50% during the conflict, which began in late February. Prices eased following the announcement of the ceasefire, but few ships have passed through the strait since it came into effect.
In an interview Sunday with Fox News, Trump said the U.S. blockade would cut Iran off from the world oil market. “We’re not going to let Iran make money by selling oil to people that they like,” he said.
Trump also downplayed the economic effects of the war, which have been a political liability. Asked if oil and gas prices could fall by the time the midterm elections are held in November, he said they “could be the same or maybe a little bit higher” — an indication that the economic turmoil of the war could linger for months, even if a lasting peace is reached.
Iran’s leaders have given no indication that they intend to relax their control of the waterway, which they view as a crucial bargaining chip, until a permanent peace is reached. In a defiant social media post, Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, said “the key” to the strait “is firmly in our hands.”
Neither Trump nor Ghalibaf appeared to rule out additional negotiations. Trump with told Fox News that his threats had forced Iran “to the bargaining table and they haven’t left,” adding that he believed the United States would eventually get “everything” it wanted from Iran.
Here’s what else we’re covering:
— Shipping tolls: U.S. officials blamed Iran, which they say has sought to impose tolls on ships passing through the waterway, for the slow pace of traffic in the strait since the start of the ceasefire. On Sunday, Trump said the U.S. Navy would “seek and interdict” any vessel that paid the fee to Iran. U.S. officials have also said one reason Iran has been unable to get more ships through was that it could not locate and remove all of the mines it had laid.
— Israel and Lebanon: Israel was not involved in the weekend negotiations and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu avoided mentioning them in an address on Saturday evening as he faces criticism at home over the ceasefire with Iran. Israel has kept up deadly attacks on southern Lebanon, including on Sunday morning, according to Lebanon’s state media. Iran had accused Israel of breaking the ceasefire by continuing to attack in Lebanon, leading Trump to ask Israel to rein in its assault. The Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States are expected to meet in Washington next week for rare direct talks.
— Death tolls: The Human Rights Activists News Agency said at least 1,701 civilians, including 254 children, had been killed in Iran as of Wednesday. Lebanon’s Health Ministry on Saturday said that 2,020 people had been killed in the latest fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, including 357 in a wave of Israeli strikes on Wednesday. In attacks attributed to Iran, at least 32 people have been killed in Gulf nations. At least 22 people had been killed in Israel as of Sunday, as well as 12 Israeli soldiers fighting in Lebanon. The U.S. death toll stands at 13 service members.