President Donald Trump announced that the United States would block the Strait of Hormuz following the collapse of peace talks with Iran in Islamabad this weekend.
“Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the best in the world, will begin the process of blocking any and all ships attempting to enter or exit the Strait of Hormuz.”Trump said in a social media post.
Vice President JD Vance and envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner left the region on Sunday after 21 hours of negotiations with senior Iranian officials, mediated by Pakistan, in an attempt to end the six-week war. The failure of the talks left the ceasefire reached last week on hold, and Trump’s release portends greater risk to the deal.
Iran’s semi-official media cited “excessive” US demands, while the Foreign Ministry said it was natural that differences were not resolved in a single round of talks, leaving the door open to more discussions.
Trump claimed that Iran’s possible mining of that key waterway, which normally accounts for about a fifth of the world’s oil supply and liquefied natural gas, and their demands for tolls to guarantee safe passage constitute “global extortion, and the leaders of the countries, especially those of the United States, will never allow themselves to be extorted.”
The president also extended his threat to international waters, stating that the US Navy would intercept any vessel that he had paid the toll to Iran and that “no one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas.”
