The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Sunday that it would start implementing a complete maritime blockade in the Strait of Hormuz from Monday at 10 a.m. ET (5 p.m. in Israel), in accordance with US President Donald Trump's decision. "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 announced, adding that vessels transitioning from and to non-Iranian ports would not be stopped.
The announcement also said that a Notice to Mariners broadcast would be sent before the blockade effectively begins, with vessels urged to contact US forces using "bridge-to-bridge channel 16 when operating in the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz approaches." Trump said on Monday that, after the failure during the first round of negotiations between the US and Iran, the American Navy would block the Strait "effective immediately," with all ships coming and going from Iranian ports being stopped. He also accused Iran of extorting the world by claiming to have placed mines in the Strait, saying that "nobody knows about but them [the mines]."
"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 added. Finally, Trump said that other countries, along with the US, would be involved in the blockade, without mentioning which countries would actually participate. Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reacted to the blockade by calling it "maximalism," and accusing the US of "shifting goalposts" during the negotiations in Islamabad last week. "Zero lessons learned," he said in his social media statement. (Read More)
