WASHINGTON — On Sunday, Iran issued a stern warning, asserting that military ships nearing the Strait of Hormuz would breach the delicate cease-fire, prompting a “strong and forceful response.” This declaration came in the wake of President Trump’s decision to implement a blockade on this vital oil transit route.
Earlier that day, President Trump revealed plans to halt “any and all ships” from entering or exiting the strait until a point is reached where oil can freely pass without Iranian interference.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy of Iran countered by declaring their “full control” over the Strait of Hormuz, ensuring it remains accessible to non-military vessels.
In a statement reported by two semi-official Iranian news agencies, the naval forces clarified, “Despite misleading claims by certain enemy officials, the Strait of Hormuz is accessible for non-military vessels under intelligent management and specific regulations.”
The IRGC further cautioned that any military ship approaching the strait would be considered a breach of the cease-fire agreement.
President Trump had previously stated that the cease-fire agreement reached last week included Iran’s commitment to allowing the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial passageway for over 20% of the world’s seaborne oil supplies.
But Iran has been accused of attempting to charge tolls on vessels going through and claimed that it lost track of the mines it laid down, scaring off ships from traversing the beleaguered waterway. The tolls would violate Trump’s cease-fire condition that the Strait of Hormuz remain open.
Despite Iran’s threats to view the deployment of a military vessel through the Strait as a violation of the cease-fire, the US claims that two American Navy destroyers went through it Saturday and took down an Iranian drone.
Vice President JD Vance led a delegation of US negotiators to meet with Iranian officials in Islamabad, Pakistan, from Friday to Saturday. After nearly 21 hours of deliberations, Vance announced that a deal hadn’t been reached, and the US team left.
Iranian state media has since said that there are no plans for another round of peace talks.
“Iran is not in a hurry, and until the US agrees to a reasonable deal, there will be no change in the situation of the Strait of Hormuz,” the Fars News Agency reported, quoting an unnamed Iranian official.
A US official briefed on the negotiations with Iran claimed there were half a dozen major red lines raised during the talks.
This included demands that Iran end all of its enrichment of uranium, dismantle its nuclear enrichment facilities, retrieve the highly enriched uranium buried underground, participate in a broader peace framework with regional allies, end funding for terrorist proxies, and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“The meeting went well, most points were agreed to, but the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not,” Trump later reflected on Truth Social.
Trump announced that the US will “begin the process of blockading” the Strait of Hormuz in response, but didn’t lay out an exact timeline for when that’ll be completely in effect.
“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,” Trump added. “The United States of America will never be extorted.”
The US has also deployed minesweepers to the Strait of Hormuz to rebuild confidence among oil vessels seeking to traverse the critical chokepoint in the future.
“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!” Trump warned.
