US to ‘shortly’ begin naval blockade of Strait of Hormuz, announces Trump
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "US to ‘shortly’ begin naval blockade of Strait of Hormuz, announces Trump")
US President Donald Trump Photograph: (AFP)
The US president accused Iran of blocking shipping through the vital waterway and extorting tolls, stating that America will never be extorted.
After failure to reach a breakthrough in Islamabad talks on Saturday, US President Donald Trump on Sunday (April 12) declared that "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," while contemplating that "At some point, we will reach an 'ALL BEING ALLOWED TO GO IN, ALL BEING ALLOWED TO GO OUT' basis."
The US president accused Iran of blocking shipping through the vital waterway and extorting tolls, stating that America will never be extorted.
"Iran has not allowed that to happen by merely saying, 'There may be a mine out there somewhere,' that nobody knows about but them. THIS IS WORLD EXTORTION, and Leaders of Countries, especially the United States of America, will never be extorted," he added in two lengthy Truth Social posts.
The US Navy has been instructed 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," Trump said, adding that "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!"
Reiterating his assertion that the US has destroyed Tehran's Navy and Air Force and killed its top leadership, the American leader said the Hormuz blockade will begin shortly and that other countries will be involved, though he did not name any.
Even as he claimed the "meeting went very well with Iran" and that both sides agreed on most points except nuclear proliferation, Trump repeated his threat to finish what he called the "little left of Iran" at the appropriate moment, adding that we are “Locked and Loaded.”
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These remarks follow US Vice President JD Vance's announcement of the collapse of high-stakes peace talks with Iran in Islamabad earlier in the day. Following 21 hours of marathon negotiations mediated by Pakistan, Vance confirmed that the two nations failed to reach an agreement to end the seven-week conflict.
"I think that this is bad news for Iran much more than it's bad news for the United States. We have left behind our final and best offer, and it is up to the leadership in Tehran to decide whether they want to continue down this path or choose a different one," Vance said before departing Pakistan for the US.
