Hours after the US-Iran peace talks ended without an agreement in Pakistan on April 12, 2026, President Donald John Trump announced that the US Navy would immediately begin a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. He reportedly ordered the US Navy to intercept all ships that would attempt to enter or exit the Strait.

In a post on Truth Social, the US President mentioned that the talks “went well” as most points were agreed. However, there was no deal on Iran’s nuclear programme which (according to him) was the central issue in the negotiations. It may be noted that face-to-face talks between the two parties continued for more than 20 hours in the presence of the Pakistani officials. However, the failure of reaching a deal left the fragile two-week ceasefire in doubt.

On Truth Social, President Trump further mentioned that no vessel paying “illegal tolls” to Tehran would be granted safe passage in international waters. At the same time, he warned that any Iranian forces firing on US or civilian ships would face lethal force.

The President also announced that the US Navy would begin clearing mines laid by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, accusing the Islamic Republic of using the threat of sea mines as a pretext to maintain control over the Strait. He stressed: “Iran is the only party that knows the exact locations of these mines. 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. THIS IS WORLD EXTORTION, and Leaders of Countries, especially the United States of America, will never be extorted.”

Reacting to news reports that China is preparing to ship weapons to Iran, President Trump told Fox News: “I doubt they would do that… but if we catch them doing that, they get a 50% tariff, which is a staggering amount.“

Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have issued a deadly vortex warning after President Trump’s Strait of Hormuz blockade announcement, stating that they have the Strait of Hormuz traffic under full control. The IRGC Naval Command said in a Persian language post on X: “All traffic… is under the full control of the Armed Forces. The enemy will become trapped in a deadly vortex in the Strait if it makes the wrong move.“

It may be noted that Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz, allowing only approved ships, to exert pressure on the US, Israel and their allies, amidst the war situation in West Asia. However, President Trump believes that the Islamic Republic is trying to establish control over the Strait. Following the collapse of the Islamabad talks, he has reignited that very allegation yet again.

Meanwhile,

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das