U.S. begins Iran blockade
U.S. forces reportedly began a naval blockade of Iranian ports and coastal areas this week, with Washington saying it would stop ships that threaten the operation. (apnews.com) China publicly warned that a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would run against international interests and urged restraint. (reuters.com)
United States forces began enforcing a naval blockade of Iranian ports on Monday, widening the Iran war into commercial shipping lanes. (centcom.mil) United States Central Command said the blockade took effect at 10 a.m. Eastern time on April 13 and applies to vessels “of all nations” entering or leaving Iranian ports and coastal areas. The command said ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports would still be allowed through. (centcom.mil) President Donald Trump had threatened a broader move a day earlier after weekend talks in Islamabad failed to end the war. By Monday, the military order was narrower than Trump’s initial threat to blockade the entire strait. (cnbc.com) (nbclosangeles.com) A blockade targets ships, not territory: naval forces stop, search, turn back, or seize vessels trying to reach a coast. In this case, Washington says the target is traffic linked to Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, not all shipping through the waterway. (britannica.com) (centcom.mil) The distinction matters because the Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s main energy chokepoints, a narrow sea passage between Iran and Oman. The United States Energy Information Administration said about 20.9 million barrels a day moved through it in the first half of 2025, equal to about 20 percent of global petroleum liquids consumption. (eia.gov 1) (eia.gov 2) China responded within hours. On April 13, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would run against “the international community’s common interests” and called for calm, restraint, and a political settlement. (usnews.com) Beijing has direct exposure because China is Iran’s largest trading partner and the main buyer of Iranian oil. A United States congressional commission said unreported Iranian crude exports to China were worth about $31.2 billion in 2025, and outside estimates put China’s Iranian imports near 1.4 million barrels a day late last year. (uscc.gov) (bruegel.org) The blockade also follows earlier United States naval moves in the same corridor. On April 11, Central Command said two guided-missile destroyers had started mine-clearance preparations in the strait and that underwater drones would join the effort. (centcom.mil) Iran has called the shipping restrictions illegal and warned that other regional ports could be at risk if Iranian facilities are targeted, according to live coverage from multiple outlets on April 13. Britain, meanwhile, signaled it would not join the blockade. (bloomberg.com) (republicworld.com) The next test is whether the operation stays limited to Iranian port traffic or slides back toward a wider fight over the strait itself. For now, the United States military says non-Iranian shipping can still pass, and China is publicly pressing to keep it that way. (centcom.mil) (usnews.com)
