After the collapse of lengthy US-Iran peace talks in Pakistan, President Donald Trump has announced his next move.
Trump declared the US Navy would "immediately" begin a blockade to stop ships from entering or leaving the Strait of Hormuz in a stunning counterattack threat against Iran, warning any Iranian that tried to stop it would be "blown to hell".
The president has ramped up his efforts to obtain control over the critical oil chokepoint, which was a key pillar of the peace negotiations in Islamabad
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A naval blockade will begin at 10am US Eastern Time on Monday (12am, Tuesday AEST).
"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," Trump announced on Truth Social.
"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 by merely saying, 'There may be a mine out there somewhere', that nobody knows about but them."
US Central Command said it would still allow ships travelling between non-Iranian ports to transit the Strait of Hormuz, but details on how this would be orchestrated are yet to be shared.
"The blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman," CENTCOM said in an X post.
The president said he instructed the US Navy to interdict any ship in international waters that had paid an "illegal" toll to Iran.
"No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas," he added.
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Trump has claimed "other countries" will be involved in the blockade and that the US military was "locked and loaded" to resume attacks against Iran.
"Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!" he said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia had not been asked to join the US blockade.
"We haven't been asked to participate. We've received no requests that we haven't agreed to," he told Today this morning.
He described the Trump administration as carrying out its blockade in a "unilateral way".
Trump has also claimed the US had completely destroyed sea mines in the Strait.
"Our Military will finish up the little that is left of Iran!" he wrote on Truth Social.
He again urged Iran to open the Strait before the looming deadline.
"As they promised, they better begin the process of getting this INTERNATIONAL WATERWAY OPEN AND FAST!" he added.
Questions linger over whether this maritime war strategy will achieve Trump's objective of reopening the Strait to commercial vessels.
Virginia senator Mark Warner, a ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CNN he did not "understand how blockading the Strait is going to somehow push the Iranians into opening it".
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned that any warship approaching the Strait would be regarded as a breach of the ceasefire agreement and would be responded to "harshly and decisively".
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https://x.com/mb_ghalibaf/status/2043425869570416802Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said any US blockade would only push oil prices higher.
"Enjoy the current pump figures," he said in a post on X, noting the current fuel prices in the US.
"With the so-called 'blockade', soon you'll be nostalgic for $4–$5 gas."
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