President Donald Trump warned Monday that any Iranian attack boats approaching the American naval blockade around Iran’s ports would be destroyed, despite international calls for a ceasefire to be respected and negotiations to resume.
The US military said the blockade, which took effect at 1400 GMT, applies to all ships leaving or seeking to dock at Iranian harbors.
In a social media post, Trump said the bulk of Iran’s navy had already been destroyed during the war, but added that if any of Tehran’s few remaining “fast attack ships” approach the blockade, “they will be immediately ELIMINATED.”
He also stated that 34 ships had passed through the Strait on Sunday, claiming it was the highest number since the war began, though the figure could not be immediately corroborated.
Trump announced the blockade on Sunday after a delegation led by Vice President JD Vance returned from a meeting with Iranian officials in Pakistan without securing a deal to end the conflict. The war was launched on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Tehran.
Last Wednesday, the US and Iran agreed to a two-week truce to allow negotiations to proceed. Mediators in Pakistan and the Gulf state of Qatar continued to call on Monday for the truce to be respected as diplomatic efforts persist.
“The ceasefire is still holding and, as I speak, full efforts are underway to resolve the outstanding issues,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan told a cabinet meeting.
Speaking at the White House, Trump said Iranian representatives had called to negotiate since the Islamabad talks failed.
“I can tell you that we’ve been called by the other side. They’d like to make a deal. Very badly, very badly,” he told reporters outside the Oval Office, without identifying which officials had made contact.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi blamed the US for the impasse during a call with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan.
“Unfortunately, we witnessed the continued excessive demands of the American side in the negotiations, which led to the failure to achieve a result,” his ministry quoted him as saying.
**Freedom of navigation**
Qatari Foreign Minister and Premier Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani urged both sides to guarantee freedom of navigation and refrain from using maritime routes “as a tool for pressure,” encouraging Tehran and Washington to remain in contact with mediators.
Iran had already closed the Strait to what it regards as enemy shipping, allowing only vessels serving countries it deems friendly—such as China—to cross.
Analysts suggested the US president is trying to starve Iran of funds while simultaneously pressuring Beijing, the largest buyer of Iranian oil, to lean on Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Beijing criticized the blockade, with foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun emphasizing the Strait’s importance to global trade. Guo stated that “maintaining its security, stability, and unimpeded flow is in the common interest of the international community.”
UN chief Antonio Guterres also called for freedom of navigation to be respected, pointing to the mariners trapped in the Gulf.
“We need to remember that some 20,000 seafarers have been caught up in this conflict and are currently stranded on ships, facing increasing hardships daily,” his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
US Central Command said the blockade includes “vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.” US forces would not impede vessels transiting the Strait to and from non-Iranian ports, it added.
Iran’s military command issued a statement branding the blockade an “act of piracy,” warning that if the security of its harbors is threatened, “no port in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea will be safe.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said that France and Britain would host a conference with countries prepared to join a “peaceful multinational mission” to secure the Strait, though he noted it would be “strictly defensive” and only operational once circumstances permit.
**Russian offer**
Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led Tehran’s delegation in Pakistan, said Tehran will “not bow to any threats,” while navy chief Shahram Irani dismissed Trump’s blockade as “ridiculous.”
The Strait remains only one of several friction points impeding efforts to end the war.
The US delegation in Islamabad—led by Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner—was reportedly frustrated by Iran’s refusal to dismantle what Tehran insists is a civilian nuclear program.
Russia has offered to hold Iran’s enriched uranium safely as part of any potential deal.
“The offer still stands, but has not been acted upon,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
AFP
