The United States announced that they would impose a blockade on Iranian ports starting Monday at 4 p.m. after direct talks between the two countries in Pakistan failed.
The U.S. military will begin a blockade of Iranian ports starting at 2 p.m. GMT on Monday, the U.S. Central Command (Centcom) said, in the absence of an agreement to end the conflict in the Middle East.
“This blockade will be applied impartially to ships of all nationalities entering or leaving Iranian ports and coastal areas, including Iranian ports in the Arabian Gulf (editor’s note, name used by the U.S. administration to refer to the Gulf) and in the Gulf of Oman,” Centcom said in a statement on X.
The U.S. military, however, specified that it would allow the passage of ships not heading to or from Iran through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic passage for global trade and oil supply.
Washington attributes this decision to Tehran’s refusal to abandon its nuclear ambitions. Following the announcement of the deadlock, Pakistan, host of the negotiations, called for respect for the two-week ceasefire agreed between the U.S. and Iran on Wednesday. However, neither party has commented on the fate of the ceasefire set to expire on April 22.
