After peace talks with Iran broke down, President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered a U.S. military blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and said if Iranians fire on any ships they “will be BLOWN TO HELL!”
“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,” the president said in a Truth Social post.
U.S. Central Command confirmed later on Sunday that military forces will blockade all Iranian ports beginning Monday at 10 a.m. ET. Ships traveling between non-Iranian ports will still be able to move through the strait, but the blockade will otherwise be “enforced impartially against vessels of all nations,” according to CENTCOM.
But the president also said Sunday he expected Iran will rejoin negotiations to end the war.
In an appearance on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Trump was asked about his controversial statement on April 7, when he threatened to destroy Iran’s “whole civilization.”
“That statement got them to the bargaining table,” Trump said, adding, “They haven’t left the bargaining table. I predict they come back and they give us everything we want.”
Trump’s announcement about the U.S. blockade of the strait comes after the United States and Iran failed to reach a deal after 21 hours of face-to-face negotiations in Islamabad, Pakistan, this weekend. Trump said the ceasefire struck last week is contingent on Iran reopening the vital sea route for the world’s oil and gas and other essential supplies.
The president said in his social media announcement that he has instructed the 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.” He said the blockade “will begin shortly.”
Vice President JD Vance, who led the U.S. delegation to the peace talks, told reporters Sunday morning before leaving Pakistan that the U.S. gave Iran their “final and best offer” — suggesting, perhaps, negotiations will resume.
While Vance declined to elaborate on why the talks brown down, Trump said Sunday that “most points were agreed to, but the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not.”
“That country will not have nuclear weapons,” he said on Fox News.
Two U.S. military warships crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday for the first time since the war began as part of a military operation to clear the vital passageway of mines that were laid by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“We will also begin destroying the mines the Iranians laid in the Straits,” Trump said Sunday on Truth Social. “Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!”
Other key figures lamented the failed talks. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who mediated several rounds of talks, called them “intense and constructive” and reaffirmed his country’s commitment to facilitate a deal.
Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, who acted as a mediator before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, said he hopes its not the end of negotiations.
“When I met Vice President Vance just hours before the war began, I formed an impression that both he and the President had a genuine and strong preference to avoid the entanglements of war,” Al Busaidi said. “So I urge that the ceasefire be extended and talks continue. Success may require.”
Others were less optimistic.
“It is hard to see talks continuing, let along concluding with a deal, without some give on both ends,” said Rob Malley, who led U.S. negotiations with Iran during the Obama administration. “And the problem is the two parties believe they have the upper hand, and a party with an upper hand is not really of a mind to be giving.”
David Rohde contributed to this report.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW, with a focus on how global events and foreign policy shape U.S. politics. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.