US Blockades Hormuz Strait After Iran Talks Collapse

The United States said it will impose a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday after peace talks with Iran held in Pakistan failed, according to a statement by President Donald Trump on Truth Social. Trump said the U.S. Navy would interdict vessels seeking to enter or leave the strait, framing the move as a response to Iran’s refusal to agree to U.S.-sought nuclear terms and what he described as Iran’s placement of mines.

In the same post, Trump said he had directed the Navy to stop any vessel in international waters that has paid tolls to Iran. He also said U.S. forces would destroy mines in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump added that Iranian forces firing on U.S. vessels or what he called peaceful vessels would face what he described as severe retaliation.

Trump also said other countries would take part in the blockade. He said the stated objective was to prevent Iran from profiting from what he called “extortion.” The announcement positioned the operation as a multinational effort, though no additional participating governments were named in the statement.

U.S. deployments to the area were also referenced. Trump said the United States has already sent minesweeping vessels to the Strait of Hormuz, and that the United Kingdom is assisting. The statement did not provide further operational details, including the scope of interdictions, rules of engagement, or how the U.S. would determine whether a vessel had paid tolls to Iran.

The escalation was described against a backdrop of wider regional strain. The source material also cited recent Israeli military operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah, including a report that Israeli forces uncovered a weapons stash in a hospital in the Bint Jbeil municipality. No direct linkage between that development and the U.S. blockade announcement was provided in the statement.