The President of the United States, (Republican Party), declared this Sunday (April 12, 2026) that the US Navy will block the Strait of Hormuz. In two publications on the Truth Social platform, Trump commented on the outcome of negotiations between the North American and Iranian delegations in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Saturday (11 April). The 2 countries left the Pakistani capital.
Trump stated that the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked by the Iranians and demanded the reopening of the sea route. He also said that Iran refuses to abandon its nuclear program. “The meeting went well, most points were agreed, but the only point that really mattered, the nuclear program, was not”wrote the Republican.
Trump said the Iranians are doing “global extortion” for closing the strait and stated that the United States Navy would begin its own blockade of the route.
According to , Iran was taking advantage of the existence of an unknown number of naval mines that it installed in the Strait of Hormuz to force ships to cross the route using its territorial waters. This would allow Iran to extort these ships in exchange for “protection fees”.
According to the North American institute, these rates of “protection” they serve to protect ships from Iranian attacks. This extortion practice is illegal under maritime law. No state bordering a strait is permitted to restrict traffic or charge fees, according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
US authorities had already stated that Iran had mines installed in the strait. According to them, the country does not have the technical capacity to locate them nor the resources to remove the explosives from the sea.
On Saturday (April 11), Trump said that the US is “starting a cleaning process” of the strait.
Comments made by the US president on social media this Sunday (12 April) signaled an escalation in naval activity around the strait. Trump said the Navy would begin intercepting ships that paid tolls to Iranians for using the route and that the military would begin destroying underwater mines placed in the waters. “Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be blown to hell!”he stated.
The US imposition of a blockade of the strait and the resulting control of vessels that may have paid tolls to cross the waters will likely have serious implications for other countries using the route.
Read the full text of Trump’s 2 publications:
- Trump says the US will block the Strait of Hormuz and says Iran is doing so “global extortion”.
“So that’s it: the meeting went well, most of the points were agreed upon, but the one point that really mattered, that of nuclear energy, was not. Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the best in the world, will begin the process of blocking all ships trying to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz. At some point, we will reach a point where everyone will be able to come and go freely, but Iran did not allow that to happen by simply saying, ‘There might be a mine out there somewhere,’ of which no one knows except them. This is global extortion, and the leaders of the countries, especially the United States, will never be extorted. I have also instructed our Navy to search for and intercept all vessels in international waters that have paid tolls to Iran. No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas. end this situation that has already devastated the country. Its Navy has been decimated, its Air Force has been decimated, its anti-aircraft weapons and radars are useless, Khomeini and most of its ‘leaders’ are dead, all because of their nuclear ambition. ‘locked and loaded’ and our Armed Forces will deliver the final blow to what little is left of Iran!”
- Trump talks in Islamabad and says Iran will not give up its nuclear ambitions.
“Iran promised to open the Strait of Hormuz, but they knowingly failed to do so. This has caused anxiety, inconvenience and suffering to many people and countries around the world. They claim to have laid mines in the water, even though their entire Navy and most of their mine-laying ships were completely destroyed. They may have done that, but what shipowner would risk it? There is great dishonor and permanent damage to Iran’s reputation and what is left of its leaders, but we are past all that. As they promised, it is They better begin the process of opening this international waterway as soon as possible! All laws are being violated by them. I was fully briefed by Vice President JD Vance, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner about the meeting that took place in Islamabad, under the capable leadership of Army Chief Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan. Horrible war with India I always appreciate hearing this – the display of humanity is incomprehensible.
The meeting with Iran began early in the morning and lasted almost 20 hours. I could go into detail and talk about everything that has been achieved, but only one thing matters: Iran is not willing to give up its nuclear ambitions! In many ways, the points agreed are better than continuing our military operations to the end, but none of that matters compared to allowing nuclear energy to be in the hands of such a volatile, difficult and unpredictable people. As time passed, my 3 representatives became, as expected, very friendly and respectful towards the representatives of Iran, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Abbas Araghchi and Ali Bagheri, but that did not matter because they were adamant on the most important issue and, as I have always said from the beginning, many years ago, Iran will never have a nuclear weapon!”
