Donald Trump has ordered to impose a second lock to the Strait of Hormuz. Prevent ships from crossing it to load oil in Iran. A movement that allows the United States rebalance the strategic balance. Until now, the Islamic Republic had the key to the sea route and, with it, control of an authentic “economic bomb” global. But the implementation of this blockade by the United States is fraught with unknowns and military risks.
The president’s order urges the US Navy to apply a blockade starting this Monday, April 13 at 4:00 p.m. “The blockade will be applied impartially to ships of all nations entering or leaving Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports in the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman”explains the statement from the United States Central Command (CENTCOM). “CENTCOM forces will not impede the freedom of navigation of ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz bound for non-Iranian ports or originating from them”.
Thus, if Iran for 40 days has only allowed the transit of own ships and some from friendly nations (China, India or Pakistan), now the United States promises to prevent these transits, while guaranteeing the allied nations (United Kingdom, France or Germany, for example).
Iranian Armed Forces map of mined areas in the Strait of Hormuz / .
Thus establishing a double lock: either all or none. Iran will not be able to benefit from oil revenues and its economy will eventually suffer. Furthermore, its partners, especially Asian countries, will be compelled to pressure Tehran to reopen the strait.
“The US Navy can impose that ‘counterblock’ in the Strait of Hormuz. Operationally, it is much easier than keeping the strait open by force. This maneuver represents a significant burden for the Iranian economy, already badly damaged by the war,” he says. THE NEWSPAPER Boaz Atziliprofessor of Foreign Policy and Global Security at the University of Washington. “But the question is which party is most vulnerable to the prolongation of this double blockade. And it is not clear that it will be Iran. Tehran could decide to re-escalate and resume its missile and drone attacks against the Gulf States, leading to a resumption of full-scale war. There may also be internal disagreements within Iran to what extent it is appropriate to give in, which could limit the ability of negotiators to make concessions.
What is needed to carry out a blockade
Often, the mere announcement is enough to prevent traffic. This Sunday, upon learning of Trump’s announcement, two Pakistani oil tankers that were on their way to load at the ports of the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait turned around to return due to a risk that they considered unaffordable.
But if you really want to do it against ships that venture to try to break ityou need a formidable air and naval force, and risk a lot.
It has the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, located in the Arabian Sea, in the Combat Group area. Two of the ships in the formation, the USS Frank E. Petersen and the USS Michael Murphycrossed the Strait of Hormuz this weekend for the first time since the start of the conflict, according to the Pentagon, something Iran denies.
“They are going to need very good naval intelligence. It seems simple, but it is not: you have to know which ship has loaded in which port, check that it has not changed its name when leaving and be able to keep track of it,” the expert explains to EL PERIÓDICO Yago Rodríguezdirector of The Political Room. “Then you need a good cyberintelligence to support this naval intelligence, because the United States not only wants to intercept Iranian ships, but also those that have paid the toll to Iran. For that you have to identify what cryptocurrency wallets or to which Iranian State accounts those payments are being made. And that requires complex cyber intervention.”
Iran has a dozen relevant ports in the area.
In it Strait of Hormuzthe key Iranian port is Abbas citythe great maritime node of the country and the enclave that dominates the northern coast of the pass. In that same environment are also the Iranian islands of I laugh y Hormuzvery close to the maritime corridor.
On the Iranian coast of Persian or Arabian Gulfthe main ports are Bushehr, Imam Khomeini, Khorramshahr, Abadan and the oil terminal on the island of Jarg.
Further to the southeast, already in the gulf of omanare Jask y Chabaharthe latter the large Iranian ocean port outside the strait.
Boarding ships in international waters
The United States can make Iranian shipping very difficult, but sustaining a real blockade requires a high-caliber military mission, with many warships, clear rules of engagement and the political will to capture or even sink to ships trying to bypass the blockade, if any.
Trump has just threatened to sink cargo ships that violate the blockade, giving as an example the attacks against alleged Iranian drug boats.
Sinking a ship would be relatively easy: aviation or anti-ship missiles are enough. Iran has tried this by launching missiles against several ships in the strait, to enforce its threats that it would attack those who pass without permission. Will the United States do the same, damaging any ships from Iranian ports to send the message?
File – Satellite image taken by NASA of the Strait of Hormuz / -/The Visible Earth/NASA/dpa – Archive
“The difficult part is the final part of the operation: board the ship, check the logbook and on-board bookscheck your route and take control,” explains Rodríguez. “For that you need lots of staff and lots of fast boatsor helicopters for certain types of boarding. Therein lies the challenge for the United States. Iran does have means prepared for this from its islands and with the naval Revolutionary Guard, but the United States does not have a great boarding capacity from boats in the area. And then there is the problem of ships sailing close to the coast, protected by Iranian missiles: in that case, you could only attempt boarding when they exit into international waters, for example when leaving Pakistan’s territorial sea behind.
Additionally, the move could prompt Yemen’s Houthis to attempt to block the other strait that encapsulates the Arabian Peninsula, that of Bab the Mandeb. In that case, the oil that Saudi Arabia pumps from east to west to avoid the Iranian blockade would encounter a new blockade, and the historic energy emergency situation that the International Energy Agency has warned of would become more onerous for the global economy, which is already facing a severe crisis scenario.
“Notice to Boaters” in Hormuz
“Additional information will be provided to merchant mariners through formal notice before the blockade takes effect,” warns the US CENTCOM in its naval blockade announcement. “All boaters are advised to follow the issuances of Notices to Mariners and to contact US naval forces on channel 16 from bridge to bridge when operating in the Gulf of Oman and on the approaches to the Strait of Hormuz.”
On the other hand, if you intend protect allied merchants, The risk situation is also high. Escorting merchants into Hormuz means putting them in a narrow corridorexposed to drones, anti-ship missiles and mines, and turning traffic protection into a daily high-risk operation, according to a report by the prestigious British military institute RUSI.
For the blockade to be truly effective, furthermore, patrolling is not enough: Iran’s maritime and coastal capabilities would have to be systematically degraded. They have already decimated their Navy, but destroy all the platforms from which Tehran can attack is not a realistic operational objective, according to the aforementioned think tank.
Besides, When can the strait be declared open? This does not depend only on Washington’s announcement. The situation will only have returned to normal when shipping companies and insurers regain enough confidence to navigate these waters.
And that, eventually, will only happen when the conflict ends.
The background to the blockade of Venezuela
The United States has already applied a similar blockade to Venezuela. It deployed aircraft carriers, destroyers, submarines and other military vessels in Caribbean waters.
On January 7, 2026, a joint operation by the Coast Guard and US military forces ended with the boarding and seizure of the Sailor (previously called the Bella 1), a tanker that sailed with russian flag and was linked to the Venezuelan crude oil trade. They had been chasing him for more than two weeks across the Atlantic. The moment was especially delicate because there was a submarine and other Russian Navy units in the area, although in the end there was no confrontation.
The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz announced by Trump begins this Monday / .
The question is what would happen if, instead of a Russian tanker, a Chinese tanker was boarded, either in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz, or in the adjacent Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
“If you start board ships heading to Chinathe risk is that Beijing decides to escort its own ships,” says Yago Rodríguez. “The Chinese Navy is based in Djibouti and could choose to protect that traffic with its destroyers, including the Type 55. Therein lies one of the keys to the escalation: an interdiction operation against ships linked to Iran may end up directly involving another great naval power.”
The naval base in Djibouti It is China’s first permanent overseas military installation. It is at the entrance to the Red Sea and very close to Bab the Mandebthe bottleneck that connects the Gulf of Aden with the Suez route.
The history of the second half of the 20th and 21st centuries is that of American control of the world’s seas. He has been able to project force thanks to his 11 aircraft carriers and the largest Navy in the world in number of ships and technological advances to support it.
By promising control of the Strait of Hormuz, The United States has raised the stakes. If it fails to avoid the transit of ships or receives many hits from Iranian missiles, this image of police of the seas would be called into question, and rival countries such as China would take note, for example for their strategic interests towards the unification and control of the island of Taiwan.
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