Iran Stands Firm, As Trump Directs US Navy to Block Strait of Hormuz
The US Navy will begin at 10 am this morning the blockading “any ships” trying to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz, US President Donald Trump said yesterday, after talks to make Iran open the critical ship passage failed at the weekend.
Trump also threatened to bomb Iran’s water treatment facilities as well as its power plants and bridges, repeating an earlier threat, if Tehran did not agree to abandon its nuclear weapons programme – the key sticking point between the two sides.
Trump’s surprise announcement of a blockade came after 21 hours of face-to-face peace negotiations between the US and Iran in Islamabad collapsed on Sunday morning.
Vice President JD Vance, who doubled as the head of the US team, said Iran had refused to give up the possibility of developing nuclear weapons, while the Iranian delegates said Washington needed to do more to win their trust.
But a seemingly frustrated Trump has ordered the US Navy to block the crucial Strait of Hormuz shipping lane, furious with Iran’s refusal to surrender its nuclear ambitions after peace talks in Pakistan broke down without an agreement.
In a lengthy declaration on his social media platform on Sunday, Trump said his eventual goal was to clear the strait of mines and reopen it to all shipping, but that in the meantime Iran must not be allowed to profit from its control of the waterway.
Iran has itself been restricting traffic through the strait – a key route for global shipments of oil, gas and fertiliser – while allowing vessels deemed to be working for friendly countries, such as China, to pass. There have been unconfirmed reports that Tehran plans to charge tolls.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has insisted the Strait of Hormuz is open for civilian vessels, but said that military ships “will be dealt with severely”.
The statement came in response to Trump’s declaration that the US Navy would immediately start blockading the strait, and interdict every vessel in international waters that had paid a toll to Iran.
Iran’s Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf blamed the US for the failure of the ceasefire negotiations in Pakistan, saying the US officials failed to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation.
