Trump Announces Strait Of Hormuz Blockade

US President Donald Trump has announced the US will begin a sweeping blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, vowing to fight back against so-called “world extortion” and ensure no one paying tolls to Iran will get through the critical oil chokepoint.

The blockade comes after US peace talks with Iran collapsed in Pakistan over the 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,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday local time in the USA.

US Vice President JD Vance left Islamabad on Sunday without a deal after negotiations with Mr Ghalibaf and his team in what was the highest-level meeting between the two sides since the 1979 Islamic revolution. The talks were meant to solidify a fragile two-week ceasefire with a final deal to end the conflict that has engulfed the Middle East, leaving thousands dead and roiling global markets. But no conclusions were reached.

Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that Iran would not give in to threats after Mr Trump ordered a naval blockade of the shipping channel.