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President Donald Trump ordered a U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz effective immediately, following the collapse of peace negotiations with Iran held in Islamabad, Pakistan, which lasted nearly 20 hours without reaching an agreement.
In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump announced that the United States Navy will block all vessels attempting to enter or exit the strait, will destroy the mines placed by Iran, and will intercept in international waters any vessel that has paid a toll to Tehran.
The leader explained the catalyst for the decision with these words: "Iran promised to open the Strait of Hormuz and knowingly did not do so. This caused anxiety, disruption, and pain to many people and countries around the world."
On mines, Trump was straightforward: "They say they placed mines in the water, even though their entire Navy and most of their 'mine layers' have been completely destroyed. They may have done it, but what shipowner would want to take that risk?"
The president warned in an ultimatum tone: "As promised, you better start the process of opening this INTERNATIONAL NAVIGABLE WATERWAY, AND QUICKLY! You are violating all laws known to exist."
Trump also ordered: "I have instructed our Navy to locate and intercept all ships in international waters that have paid a toll to Iran. No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas."
The first high-level direct talks between Washington and Tehran since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, known as the Islamabad negotiations, began early Saturday morning and continued throughout the night.
Trump described the meeting like this: "The meeting with Iran began early in the morning and lasted all night, nearly 20 hours."
The U.S. delegation was led by Vice President JD Vance, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner. The Iranian delegation was headed by Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, President of the Parliament, Abbas Araghchi, and Ali Bagheri.
Trump acknowledged partial progress but was categorical about the breaking point.
"In many ways, the agreed points are better than continuing our military operations to the end, but all those points don't matter compared to allowing nuclear energy to be in the hands of such volatile, difficult, and unpredictable people," he added in his post.
The president emphasized his position in capital letters: "IRAN IS NOT WILLING TO GIVE UP ITS NUCLEAR ASPIRATIONS!" and concluded: "IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!".
Trump also reported that he had been informed about the discussions by his representatives and took the opportunity to credit himself with preventing a war between India and Pakistan.
"They are extraordinary men and they continually thank me for having saved between 30 and 50 million lives in what would have been a horrific war with India," he noted.
The international reactions were immediate.
Ghalibaf stated on X that the Iranian delegation "presented constructive initiatives, but ultimately, the other side could not earn the trust of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations."
Vice President Vance was more emphatic: "We have not seen a fundamental commitment from Iran to not develop nuclear weapons in the long term; it’s worse news for them than for us".
The British Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged both sides to "find a way out" and avoid further escalation, while Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to mediate, according to the Kremlin reported by the Interfax.
In parallel, Saudi Arabia announced that its east-west pipeline, the Petroline -an alternative to the Strait for exporting crude oil- is back in operation after being attacked by drones the previous Wednesday.
The Saudi Ministry of Energy confirmed that "the energy equipment and the east-west pipeline damaged by attacks are back in operation."
The Strait of Hormuz is the passage through which 20% of the world's oil flows. Since Iran blocked it on March 4, Brent crude surged from 67 to over 126 dollars per barrel. More than 2,000 ships have been stranded with 20,000 sailors on board, and 97% of maritime traffic in the area has collapsed.
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