Trump Begins Blockade Of Hormuz Strait, Says Iran "Will Not Be Allowed To Profit From Extortion"

Trump Begins Blockade Of Hormuz Strait, Says Iran "Will Not Be Allowed To Profit From Extortion"

The odds of a peace deal by the end of the ceasefire period have improved modestly today but remain down significantly from pre-talks...

Attempted Boarding of Commerical Ship in Bab el-Mandeb Strait 

United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported that a "sailing vessel" was approached by a small boat carrying 10 to 12 people, several of them heavily armed with automatic weapons, in what appeared to be an attempted boarding.

"The Master deployed a flare and the skiff turned away and departed to the southeast," UKMTO wrote in an advisory posted on X about the maritime incident near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another critical chokepoint that Iran-aligned Houthi rebels have threatened to close in recent weeks.

President Trump Begins Blockading Strait Of Hormuz

President Trump said the US would blockade the Strait of Hormuz following the collapse of peace talks with Iran in Islamabad this weekend.

“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,” Trump said in a social media post.

In a pair of lengthy social media posts, Trump first explained the situation in the Strait...

Iran promised to open the Strait of Hormuz, and they knowingly failed to do so.

This caused anxiety, dislocation, and pain to many people and Countries throughout the World.

They say they put mines in the water, even though all of their Navy, and most of their “mine droppers,” have been completely blown up.

They may have done so, but what ship owner would want to take the chance?

There is great dishonor and permanent harm to the reputation of Iran, and what’s left of their “Leaders,” but we are beyond all of that.

As they promised, they better begin the process of getting this INTERNATIONAL WATERWAY OPEN AND FAST! Every Law in the book is being violated by them.

I have been fully debriefed by Vice President JD Vance, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, on the meeting that took place in Islamabad through the kind and very competent leadership of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan. They are very extraordinary men, and continuously thank me for saving 30 to 50 million lives in what would have been a horrendous War with India. I always appreciate hearing that — The amount of Humanity spoken of is incomprehensible.

Before discussing the outcome of the talks:

The meeting with Iran began early in the morning, and lasted throughout the night — Close to 20 hours. I could go into great detail, and talk about much that has been gotten but, there is only one thing that matters — IRAN IS UNWILLING TO GIVE UP ITS NUCLEAR AMBITIONS!

In many ways, the points that were agreed to are better than us continuing our Military Operations to conclusion, but all of those points don’t matter compared to allowing Nuclear Power to be in the hands of such volatile, difficult, unpredictable people.

My three Representatives, as all of this time went by, became, not surprisingly, very friendly and respectful of Iran’s Representatives, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, Abbas Araghchi, and Ali Bagheri, but that doesn’t matter because they were very unyielding as to the single most important issue and, as I have always said, right from the beginning, and many years ago, IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!

Trump noted that talks went well... until they didn't...

"So, there you have it, the meeting went well, most points were agreed to, but the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not."

The US president is hopeful...

At some point, we will reach an “ALL BEING ALLOWED TO GO IN, ALL BEING ALLOWED TO GO OUT” basis, but Iran has not allowed that to happen by merely saying, “There may be a mine out there somewhere,” that nobody knows about but them.

But then came the threats, with Trump apparently widening his purview to international waters:

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.

Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!

And the art of the deal... Escalate to De-Escalate... how long can Iran last with no oil revenues at all?

Iran knows, better than anyone, how to END this situation which has already devastated their Country.

Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti Aircraft and Radar are useless, Khomeini, and most of their “Leaders,” are dead, all because of their Nuclear ambition.

The Blockade will begin shortly. Other Countries will be involved with this Blockade. Iran will not be allowed to profit off this Illegal Act of EXTORTION.

They want money and, more importantly, they want Nuclear.

Additionally and, at an appropriate moment, we are fully “LOCKED AND LOADED,” and our Military will finish up the little that is left of Iran!

Iran’s semi-official media cited “excessive” US demands, while the foreign ministry said it was natural that differences wouldn’t be resolved in a single round of talks, leaving the door open for more discussions.

A month ago we wondered...

If Iran is blocking and attacking US ships, why is the US allowing sanctioned Iranian tankers to cross the strait with Chinese oil? — zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 12, 2026 ...and now we have an answer. 

The question is - how will the UAE oil chief deal with a US closure versus an Iranian closure?

China will certainly be pissed off as their tankers were flowing relatively freely until now.

Is the US endgame to take control of another chokepoint too...

2 Supertankers U-Turn In Strait After Peace Talks End Without A Deal

The marathon peace talks this weekend in Islamabad between Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Vice President JD Vance, and other officials ended without a deal. Still, the top Iranian negotiator signaled that the door remains open for future talks. Polymarket odds of a peace deal being signed this month collapsed late Saturday.

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US x Iran permanent peace deal by April 30, 2026? Yes 16% · No 85%View full market & trade on PolymarketAhead of the weekend peace talks, three fully loaded supertankers carrying Iraqi and Saudi crude safely transited the Strait of Hormuz. But after U.S.-Iran negotiations ended without a deal late Saturday, two separate empty supertankers abruptly turned around at the mouth of the chokepoint rather than enter the Persian Gulf.

The exact reason for the U-turns of the two supertankers remains unclear, especially since Iraq and Pakistan had reportedly received Iranian transit approvals. However, the reversals clearly coincide with the breakdown in negotiations, highlighting just how quickly conditions on the strait can change.

UAE Oil Chief Warns "Illegal, Dangerous, & Unacceptable" For Iran To Close Strait

On Sunday morning, as vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained muted, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, ADNOC's managing director and group CEO and one of the most influential people in global energy markets, wrote on X: "The Strait of Hormuz has never been Iran's to close or restrict."

Al Jaber continued, "Any attempt to do so is not a regional issue; it is the disruption of a global economic lifeline and a direct threat to the energy, food and health security of every nation."

"Setting such a precedent is illegal, dangerous, and unacceptable. The world simply cannot afford it and must not allow it," he concluded in the X post.

Since February 28: * At least 22 ships have been attacked * 10 crew members have been killed * Around 20,000 seafarers are unable to transit safely * An estimated 800 commercial vessels are stranded, including almost 400 tankers The Strait of Hormuz has never been Iran’s to… — Dr. Sultan Al Jaber (@SultanAlJaber) April 12, 2026 On Saturday, the U.S. Department of War confirmed that two U.S. warships transited the waterway to begin marine mine-clearing operations. Only a handful of ships have transited the strait this weekend.

Polymarket odds for vessel traffic returning to "normal" by the end of April plunged this weekend from 30% to 17%.

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Strait of Hormuz traffic returns to normal by end of April? Yes 17% · No 83%View full market & trade on PolymarketUS Becomes World's 'Gas Station Of Last Resort'

Disruptions at Gulf energy facilities and the continued paralysis across the Hormuz chokepoint led us early in the U.S.-Iran conflict to conclude that global energy flows were being rewired, whether temporarily or over the medium term, with energy exporters in the Gulf of America emerging as a potential net beneficiary.

Energy Dominance 🤑🇺🇸 https://t.co/efoG6JzTap pic.twitter.com/PO70X9OI1V — Brandie with a 🐝 (@BrandieWithABee) April 12, 2026 In fact, the latest vessel-tracking data transmitted via the Automatic Identification System, supplied by Bloomberg, show that it is quite possible that America has become the world's emergency gas station.

What appears increasingly clear after this weekend's Islamabad talks is that Tehran refused to surrender any leverage around the Hormuz chokepoint. That posture only suggests to us that Tehran understands the chokepoint remains one of the last leverage points. 

Sun, 04/12/2026 - 09:20