War in Iran: Trump announces implementation of naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz

After failed negotiations this weekend in Islamabad, Washington has decided to take action in response to Tehran’s refusal to make concessions on nuclear issues.

Donald Trump announced on Sunday an American naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in response to Iran’s “intransigent” refusal to abandon its nuclear ambitions during the negotiations in Islamabad this weekend. While acknowledging that the discussions in Pakistan were “good” and that “most points had been agreed upon”, the US president stated on his Truth Social platform that Tehran had refused to compromise on the nuclear issue.

“From now on, the US Navy, the best in the world, will begin the process of BLOCKING all ships attempting to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz,” he wrote about the strategic maritime route through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil passes and is located between Iran and the Sultanate of Oman.

In two lengthy messages, the US president warned: “Any Iranian who shoots at us, or who shoots at peaceful ships, will be OBLITERATED!”, suggesting that “other countries” would be involved in the blockade effort, without naming them. This announcement comes as negotiations in Islamabad between the United States and Iran failed on Sunday, raising doubts about the two-week ceasefire currently in place. The President of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led the Iranian delegation, criticized the US as “incapable” of gaining Iran’s trust during the discussions.

On Saturday, the US military announced that two American warships had crossed the Strait of Hormuz, marking the beginning of a mine-clearing operation. These claims were denied by Tehran. The Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic, then threatened to act “harshly” against any military ship passing through the strait.