Trump says the US will block the Strait of Hormuz and block ships that have paid for Iran
washington – President Trump said on Sunday that the US Navy will begin blocking ships from entering or exiting the Strait of Hormuz and seize ships that have paid for Iran, after that. marathon talks in Pakistan he failed to produce an agreement to end the war.
“Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Greatest in the World, will begin the process of BANNING all ships attempting to enter, or exit, the Strait of Hormuz,” the president said in a post on Truth Social Sunday morning.
Mr. Trump also said he had ordered the Navy to “search and interdict all ships in International Waters that have paid for Iran,” and that the US would begin “destroying the mines that the Iranians have placed in the Straits.”
“Any Iranian who shoots at us, even at peaceful ships, WILL GO TO HELL!” he added.
At least two ships that have crossed the current have it paid in Iranian currency with the Chinese yuan to ensure safe passage, Lloyd’s List Intelligence analysts said in a recent report. Analysts wrote that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps “has established a de facto ‘toll booth’ in the Strait of Hormuz, requiring ships to submit full documents, obtain permit codes and accept IRGC escorted passage through a single controlled tunnel.” Iran has indicated that it may seek to impose tolls on all ships passing through the strait under a long-term peace deal.
The president has urged Iran not to charge ships traveling through the vital waterway. His announcement of the sanctions came after the US and Iran failed to reach an agreement after face-to-face talks led by Vice President JD Vance in Islamabad on Saturday. Vance told reporters that the Iranian people had “chosen not to accept our terms” and that direct negotiations had ended. Both sides agreed to a two-week ceasefire five days ago.
In his book Truth Social, Mr. Trump said the talks “went well.” He said “many points were agreed upon, but one really important point, NUCLEAR, was not there.”
The president said the blockade “will start soon,” adding that other countries would be involved, but did not specify which countries. He said Iran “will not be allowed to profit from this Illegal Expropriation Act.”
“They want money and more importantly they want Nuclear,” he said. “Furthermore and, in due course, we are fully ‘LOCKED AND LOADED,’ and our Military will wipe out what little is left of Iran!”
Mr. Trump told Fox News later on Sunday, “The UK and a few other countries are sending sweepers.”
Contrary to the statement of Mr. Trump on Sunday, the United Kingdom will not be involved in the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a familiar source told CBS News.
“We continue to support freedom of movement and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, which is urgently needed to support the global economy and the cost of living at home,” a UK government spokesman told CBS News. “The Strait of Hormuz should not be compromised. We are working urgently with France and other partners to build a broad coalition to protect freedom of navigation.”
A NATO military official told CBS News, “The UK is leading the planning efforts of an alliance of more than 40 nations from around the world, many of them from NATO, to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and protect freedom of movement.
