Over 20 hours of contentious negotiations between American and Iranian officials in Islamabad over the weekend concluded without a go-forward plan to end the war, calling into question a tenuous two-week ceasefire deal was agreed upon last week.
Vice President JD Vance and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s chief negotiator, along with massive delegations on both sides, could not come to a consensus on how to wind down the conflict. Vance said after the marathon talks that Iran refused to abandon its nuclear program—the primary objective of the U.S. military campaign.
As a result, an irate President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. Navy to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, choking off the already constrained trade thoroughfare that has served as Iran’s chief point of leverage amid the U.S. and Israeli strikes.
“So, there you have it, the meeting went well, most points were agreed to, but the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not. Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social on Sunday.
Iranian officials indicated that there may be mines in the strait that could imperil ships passing through, Trump said.
“THIS IS WORLD EXTORTION, and Leaders of Countries, especially the United States of America, will never be extorted. I have also instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran. No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas. We will also begin destroying the mines the Iranians laid in the Straits,” he added.
In a second Truth, Trump said Iran had promised to open the strait and “knowingly failed” to do so, causing “anxiety, dislocation, and pain” to those that rely on it for the transport of energy products and other cargo. About 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas moves through the strait on its way to markets spanning the globe, and DHL said last week that shipping patterns may not normalize for four to six months.
In recent weeks, the disruption has pushed prices at U.S. pumps have to a whopping $4-per-gallon average, with some states, like California, seeing gas exceed $6. Trump warned that Iran “better begin the process of getting this INTERNATIONAL WATERWAY OPEN AND FAST!”
In an ominous Twitter post, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responded that all Strait traffic is “under the full control of the armed forces.”
“The enemy will become trapped in a deadly vortex in the Strait if it makes the wrong move,” it added alongside a video showing ships in crosshairs.
An official public relations statement from the IRGC softened the messaging, saying that civilian vessels would be allowed to transit the Strait if compliant with “specific regulations,” but “[a]ny military vessels that intend to approach the Strait of Hormuz under any pretext will be considered in violation of the ceasefire and will be dealt with severely.”
As tensions remain high, Trump also took aim, again, at Iran’s perceived allies, renewing threats to impose new 50 percent tariffs on any country that sells Iran weapons. Speaking about China in particular on Fox News on Sunday, the president said, “If we catch them doing that, they get a 50 percent tariff, which is a staggering—that’s a staggering amount.”
Trump is still slated to visit Beijing next month to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping after delaying an early April meeting because of the war.
