Gulf blockade and talks
The U.S. has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports and U.S. Central Command reports no vessels have breached it, even as the White House says it “feels good about prospects of a deal” and Pakistan may host a second round of talks. ( ). Iran warned it could block the Red Sea if the American blockade continues, and analysts note a large share of China’s oil and gas imports passes through the Strait of Hormuz — a dynamic that could pull other powers into the dispute over shipping chokepoints. ( )
The United States says its navy has sealed off Iranian ports since April 13, while the White House says a second round of talks could follow in Pakistan. (centcom.mil) (al-monitor.com) United States Central Command said the blockade began at 10 a.m. Eastern time on Sunday, April 13, and applies to all maritime traffic entering or leaving Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. The command said ships bound for non-Iranian ports can still pass through the Strait of Hormuz. (centcom.mil) By April 14, Central Command said no vessel had breached the cordon in its first 24 hours, and multiple reports said six merchant ships complied with orders to turn back. Navy Times reported the operation involved more than 10,000 personnel and more than a dozen warships. (understandingwar.org) (navytimes.com) At the same time, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on April 15 that reports of a requested ceasefire extension were wrong and that discussions with Iran were “productive and ongoing.” She said any fresh in-person talks would likely be held in Pakistan again because it had emerged as the “only mediator.” (al-monitor.com) That mix of pressure and diplomacy sits on top of a wider shipping crisis that began before this blockade. The World Trade Organization’s Strait of Hormuz tracker said Iran’s March 2 closure of the waterway drove outbound crude oil, liquefied natural gas, and fertilizer shipments from the Gulf to “almost zero.” (datalab.wto.org) The strait is a narrow sea lane, but it carries an outsized share of the world’s energy trade. The United States Energy Information Administration said flows through Hormuz in 2024 and early 2025 accounted for more than one-quarter of global seaborne oil trade, about one-fifth of global oil consumption, and around one-fifth of global liquefied natural gas trade. (eia.gov) China is especially exposed to any prolonged disruption. Vortexa said crude routed through Hormuz accounted for roughly 35 percent of China’s total crude supply in 2025, while Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy said China imported a record 11.6 million barrels a day of crude in 2025. (vortexa.com) (energypolicy.columbia.edu) Iran answered the new blockade with a broader threat. A statement carried by state television and reported by Agence France-Presse said commander Ali Abdollahi warned on April 15 that Iran could block trade through the Red Sea, the Gulf, and the Sea of Oman if the United States kept targeting Iranian shipping. (english.alarabiya.net) Iranian-linked outlets and some shipping reports have pushed back on the American account, saying some vessels still moved from southern Iranian ports despite the blockade. That leaves the next test in two places at once: on the water, where each transit can challenge enforcement, and in Pakistan, where negotiators are trying to turn a naval standoff into a deal. (english.alarabiya.net) (al-monitor.com)
