Donald Trump says US will blockade Strait of Hormuz after Iran peace talks collapse

Susanna Siddell
Sun, 12 Apr 2026 13:09:59 +0000

Donald Trump has said the US will blockade the Strait of Hormuz after the peace talks with Iran collapsed yesterday.

The US military will start blocking off "any and all ships" attempting to enter the key maritime passage, the President declared in a lengthy Truth Social post on Sunday.

The bold intervention has come after negotiations with Tehran fell through on Saturday night, after which Vice President JD Vance said there were "shortcomings" and the Iranians "chose not to accept the US terms".

Such terms included a commitment from Tehran not to seek or develop nuclear weapons, the VP outlined in a three-minute-long briefing.

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"The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement, and I think that's bad news for Iran much more than it's bad news for the United States of America," he told reporters.

Now, in an unprecedented post, the 47th President took issue with Iran's "unwillingness" to settle an agreement on its nuclear ambitions, although he claimed the meeting "went well".

Mr Trump said: "Most points were agreed to, but the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not.

"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 claimed the US and Iran will reach a free-roaming agreement across the strait "at some point".

He continued: "But 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."

The President confirmed the US will start "destroying" mines across the strategic waterway.

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"Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL! Iran knows, better than anyone, how to END this situation which has already devastated their Country," the President warned.

The US is "fully locked and loaded", Mr Trump added. The blockade is due to come into effect "shortly".

After peace talks disintegrated on Saturday after 21 hours of discussion, Tasnim, Iran's state news agency, claimed the Americans' "excessive" demands had "hindered" any deal during the "intense" negotiations between Tehran and Washington.

Failure of the key peace talks came just a few hours after the US Central Command announced underwater drones, along with further military resources, would be deployed to clear the strategic trade passageway.

Ever since Iran first blockaded the strait, which is responsible for a fifth of the globe's oil and gas, citizens have been bludgeoned with soaring energy prices.

After Mr Trump announced a two-week ceasefire on Tuesday, the free passage of oil through the strategic waterway was central to the sustenance of the breakthrough peace deal.

While the strait was open for several days, the deal began to fracture after it came to light that Iran was demanding payments for the hundreds of ships looking to pass through the waterway, incensing American officials.

As a result, on Saturday, Mr Trump confirmed he was working to open up the strait which, he said, would be a "favour to countries all over the world, including China, Japan, South Korea, France, Germany, and many others".

"Incredibly, they don’t have the courage or will to do this work themselves," he slammed.