The US Central Command has said that the United States forces would begin implementing the blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports at 10 am ET (7.30 PM IST) on 13 April.
It would 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,” a CENTCOM statement on X said.
USCENTCOM or CENTCOM is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense. Its area of responsibility includes the Middle East (including Egypt in Africa), Central Asia and parts of South Asia.
US forces would not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports, and additional information would be provided to commercial mariners through a formal notice prior to the start of the blockade, it said.
The CENTCOM announcement comes hours after President Donald Trump announced the blockade and claimed that other countries will also be involved in enforcing it escalating tensions with Iran after talks failed to resolve disputes over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
President Trump claimed that Iran did agree to the most crucial part of negotiations, which was to give up its nuclear ambitions, Trump said that Iran has laid out mines in the Strait of Hormuz and is “extorting” countries through it.
Trump said in a post on social media the US would take action against every vessel in international waters that had paid a toll to Iran, and begin destroying mines that he said the Iranians had dropped in the Strait, a choke point for about 20% of global energy supplies that Iran has blocked.
“No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding: “Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!”
The Strait of Hormuzone of the world’s most critical oil transit chokepoints, has been at the center of rising tensions. Trump accused Iran of failing to uphold assurances to keep the route openstating: “Iran promised to open the Strait of Hormuz, and they knowingly failed to do so.”
Revolutionary Guards Responded
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards responded to Trump by warning that military vessels approaching the Strait will be considered a ceasefire breach and dealt with harshly and decisively, underlining the risk of a dangerous escalation.
Iran’s Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who led his country’s delegation to the talks along with Foreign Minister Abbas Araqhchi, said Trump’s new threats would have no effect on Iran.
No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas.
“If you fight, we will fight, and if you come forward with logic, we will deal with logic,” he said in comments carried by state media.
The weekend talks in Islamabad, which followed the announcement of a ceasefire on Tuesday, were the first direct US-Iranian meeting in more than a decade and the highest-level discussions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
No breakthrough in Islamabad talks
President Trump also mentioned in the post about the negotiations with Iran that lasted for over 20 hours in Islamabad, facilitated by Shehbaz Sharif and Asim Munir and ended without any breakthrough.
He said he had been briefed by Vice President JD Vanceenvoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner.
Despite describing the talks as extensive, Trump said Iranian officials remained firm. “They were very unyielding as to the single most important issue,” he noted.
Vance reveals US’ ‘final offer’ to Iran
Vance, meanwhile, has presented a “final offer” to Iran during high-stakes negotiations in Islamabad on Saturday, laying out six strict “red lines” aimed at securing a breakthrough in the stalled nuclear talks, according to US officials.
The proposal as per Fox News reportedly demanded sweeping concessions from Tehran, including:
-Complete end to uranium enrichment activities.
-Dismantling of all major nuclear facilities.
-Retrieval and removal of highly enriched uranium stockpiles.
-Acceptance of a broader regional peace and de-escalation framework involving US allies.
-Cessation of funding to regional proxy groups, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.
-Full opening of the Strait of Hormuzensuring toll-free maritime passage.
