U.S. naval blockade ordered

President Donald Trump said on Sunday, April 12, that the United States Navy will begin blockading shipping tied to Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz. (cnbc.com) United States Central Command said the operation will start Monday at 10 a.m. Eastern time and will still allow ships moving between non-Iranian ports to pass through the waterway. Trump had initially said “any and all” ships would be blocked, but Central Command later described a narrower action aimed at vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports and coastal areas. (cnbc.com, france24.com) The order came hours after 21 hours of face-to-face talks in Islamabad ended without a deal. Vice President J. D. Vance, who led the United States delegation, said Iran refused American terms on nuclear weapons, while Pakistani mediators urged both sides to preserve the two-week ceasefire. (apnews.com, thehill.com) The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow sea lane between Iran and Oman that carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil trade. That makes even a limited blockade a direct threat to tanker traffic, insurance costs and energy prices far beyond the Gulf. (cnbc.com, france24.com) The move also hardens a ceasefire announced on April 8 after six weeks of war. Before the Islamabad meeting, the White House had sent Vance to Pakistan to try to turn that pause into a broader settlement with Iran over uranium enrichment, regional militias and access through Hormuz. (outlookindia.com, gulfnews.com, time.com) Trump said the Navy would also destroy mines that he said Iran had placed in the strait and would interdict ships that paid tolls to Tehran. During the talks, the United States military said two destroyers had already transited the strait ahead of mine-clearing work, which Iran denied. (militarytimes.com, france24.com) Iranian officials said the strait remained under Iran’s control and open to non-military shipping, and Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Washington had failed to earn Tehran’s trust. Time, citing a United States official, reported that Iran rejected demands to end all uranium enrichment, dismantle major enrichment sites and remove its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. (france24.com, militarytimes.com, time.com) Shipping had only partly resumed even after the ceasefire, with France 24 reporting that more than 40 commercial ships crossed the strait in the days after the pause began. The next test is whether the United States can enforce a selective blockade without turning a fragile truce into open fighting at sea. (france24.com)