US to blockade Iran ports after talks fail to yield a deal
The US Central Command said US forces would begin implementing the blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports at 10 am ET (1400 GMT) on Monday
Highlights:
- Trump vows to blockade Strait of Hormuz after talks stumble
- US president sees potential for further talks
- Both sides blame each other for lack of agreement in Islamabad
President Donald Trump said on Sunday the US Navy would start blockading the Strait of Hormuz, raising the stakes after marathon talks with Iran failed to reach a deal to end the war, jeopardising a fragile two-week ceasefire.
The US Central Command said US forces would begin implementing the blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports at 10 am ET (1400 GMT) on Monday.
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It would be "enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman," a CENTCOM statement on X said.
US forces would not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports, and additional information would be provided to commercial mariners through a formal notice prior to the start of the blockade, it said.
Trump said in a post on social media the US would take action against every vessel in international waters that had paid a toll to Iran, and begin destroying mines that he said the Iranians had dropped in the Strait, a choke point for about 20% of global energy supplies that Iran has blocked.
"No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas," Trump wrote, adding: "Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!"
Iran's Revolutionary Guards responded to Trump by warning that military vessels approaching the Strait will be considered a ceasefire breach and dealt with harshly and decisively, underlining the risk of a dangerous escalation.
Iran's Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who led his country's delegation to the talks along with Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, said Trump's new threats would have no effect on Iran.
"If you fight, we will fight, and if you come forward with logic, we will deal with logic," he said in comments carried by state media.
The weekend talks in Islamabad, which followed the announcement of a ceasefire on Tuesday, were the first direct US-Iranian meeting in more than a decade and the highest-level discussions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Iran bemoans 'maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade'
Araqchi said Iran had engaged in good faith but had "encountered maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade" when just inches away from an "Islamabad MoU."
"Zero lessons earned," he added. "Good will begets good will. Enmity begets enmity."
Speaking after the talks, Vice President JD Vance, who headed the US delegation, said: "The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement, and I think that's bad news for Iran much more than it's bad news for the United States of America."
Six weeks of fighting has killed thousands, roiled the global economy and sent oil prices soaring as Iran prevented traffic through the Strait. Oil prices jumped above $100 per barrel early on Monday.
Trump said on Sunday the price of oil and gasoline may remain high through November's midterm elections, a rare acknowledgement of the potential political fallout from the war.
A few hours after Trump's comments, Qalibaf took to social media to post a map of Washington-area gasoline prices and the comment: "Enjoy the current pump figures. With the so-called 'blockade', soon you'll be nostalgic for $4–$5 gas."
The dollar jumped against other major currencies on Sunday, as investors sought the relative safety of the currency after the talks failed to yield a deal, plunging markets into a seventh week of uncertainty.
More negotiations?
In an interview with Fox News after his post about the Strait, Trump nevertheless said he believed Iran would continue to negotiate and called the discussions "very friendly."
"I do believe they're going to come to the table on this, because nobody can be so stupid as to say, 'We want nuclear weapons,' and they have no cards," Trump told Fox News from his golf course near Miami, Florida.
Trump also said NATO allies he has criticised for failing to back the war he launched along with Israel on 28 February wanted to help with the operation in the Strait.
There was no immediate comment from Washington's allies.
A US official said Iran had rejected Washington's call for an end to all uranium enrichment, the dismantling of all major enrichment facilities and the transfer of highly enriched uranium.
The two sides also failed to reach agreement on the US demand that Iran cease funding for Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis as well as fully open the Strait, the official added.
Qalibaf blamed the US for not winning Tehran's trust, despite his team offering "forward-looking initiatives." Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, who discussed the talks in a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Tehran wanted "a balanced and fair agreement."
"If the United States returns to the framework of international law, reaching an agreement is not far off," he told Putin, Iranian state media reported.
Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency said "excessive" US demands had hindered reaching a deal. Other Iranian media said there was agreement on a number of issues, but the Strait and Iran's nuclear programme were the main sticking points.
Despite the stalemate, three supertankers fully laden with oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, shipping data showed. They appeared to be the first vessels to exit the Gulf since the ceasefire deal.
