The American army declared that it would start blocking all Iranian ports on Monday, following the failed negotiations between the warring parties in Pakistan, with President Donald Trump blaming the Islamic Republic’s refusal to abandon its nuclear ambitions.
M. Trump announced on social media that he would block the strategic commercial route of the Strait of Hormuz, demanding its full opening by Tehran, after his vice president JD Vance left the negotiations with an Iranian delegation in Islamabad on Sunday.
The breakdown in negotiations has dashed global hopes of a definitive end to the war that has killed thousands and plunged the global economy into turmoil since late February.
As negotiation teams departed, Pakistan, the mediating country, stated it would continue to facilitate dialogue and urged both parties to respect the fragile two-week ceasefire agreement reached last week, which experts warn could be jeopardized by any military maritime blockade.
“The blockade will be impartially applied to ships of all nations entering or leaving Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman,” declared the U.S. Central Command in a statement, adding it would start at 14:00 GMT (15:00 CET) on Monday.
U.S. forces will not prevent ships from transiting through the Strait of Hormuz from or to non-Iranian ports, the statement added.
M. Trump confirmed the U.S. army’s statement on his Truth Social platform, announcing a more limited operation than what was initially envisioned in his previous message, in which he stated all ships attempting to enter or exit the strait would be blocked.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) had warned before the American military announcement that they fully controlled traffic through Hormuz and would trap any adversary “in a deadly vortex.”
In a lengthy social media post, M. Trump stated on Sunday that his goal was to mine the strait and reopen it to all ships, but Iran should not be allowed to benefit from controlling the waterway.
“From now on, the U.S. Navy, the best in the world, will start blocking all ships attempting to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz,” M. Trump declared. “Any Iranian who shoots at us or at peaceful ships will be reduced to ashes.”
Maximalism, a change in position, and a blockade:
Oil prices, which had dropped last week after the temporary ceasefire, surged by about 8% on Monday, with major WTI and Brent contracts surpassing $100 per barrel.
The president of the Iranian parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, leading the Tehran delegation to Pakistan, stated that Tehran “will not bow to any threat” from Washington, while navy chief Shahram Irani deemed M. Trump’s blockade threat “ridiculous.”
After the most significant negotiations between the U.S. and Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution failed, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi blamed “maximalism, a change in position, and a blockade” for preventing an agreement that he believed was just a few centimeters away.
On Sunday, M. Trump told the press he was ambivalent about the prospect of continuing negotiations with Iran.
“I do not care if they come back or not. If they don’t, that’s fine,” he stated.
Tehran had already restricted traffic in the strait – a vital waterway for global oil and gas shipments – while allowing certain ships serving friendly countries like China to pass through.
It is still unclear who in Tehran has total control over the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – an elite paramilitary force generally directly under the Ayatollah’s authority – and its navy stationed in Hormuz.
Nicole Grajewski, associate professor at Sciences Po’s Center for International Studies, stated that an American blockade was not “a minor coercive signal” but could be seen as an effective resumption of war.
The U.S. military stated on Saturday that two Navy warships had crossed the Strait of Hormuz to begin mining it, a claim that Tehran denied.
Iranian news agency Fars reported on Sunday that two Pakistani-flagged oil tankers heading towards the strait had turned back.
However, this crucial waterway is not the only point of contention that has hindered global efforts under Pakistan’s auspices to end the war, which began on February 28 when Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, leading to Iranian retaliation against Gulf and Israeli cities.
The U.S. delegation frustrated:
The American delegation in Islamabad – led by Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner – was disappointed by Iran’s refusal to give up what it calls its right to a nuclear program.
“I have always said, from the start, many years ago, that Iran would never have a nuclear weapon,” M. Trump later posted.
Vance told reporters in Islamabad that Washington had made Tehran its “last and best offer.”
“We’ll see if the Iranians accept it,” he added.
Even before the historic talks, there was concern about the possibility of the ceasefire collapsing due to continued Israeli strikes targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, where Iran and Pakistan insist the truce also applies.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam stated on Sunday that he was working to end the war and ensure the withdrawal of Israeli troops, while Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu told troops in southern Lebanon that the fighting was far from over.
Lebanese and Israeli officials are set to meet in Washington on Tuesday.
Hezbollah stated overnight that it had launched rockets at northern Israeli cities, continuing the attacks it began in early March to avenge the death of the Iranian supreme leader in the initial Israeli-American strikes that triggered the regional war.
Israeli strikes on Beirut and other regions in Lebanon last week, after the temporary ceasefire announcement, killed hundreds, according to Lebanese health authorities.
