U.S. to Blockade Ships From Iranian Ports

 

U.S. to Blockade Ships From Iranian Ports

The blockade on ships “entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas” will begin on Monday, U.S. Central Command said. But U.S. forces will not impede vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a step back from President Trump’s earlier vow.

 

Published April 12, 2026

Updated April 13, 2026, 1:27 a.m. ET

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/04/12/world/iran-war-trump-talks-pakistan

Katie Rogers Tyler PagerAaron Boxerman and Isabel KershnerTyler Pager reported from Islamabad, Pakistan.

 

Here’s the latest.

The U.S. military said on Sunday that it would blockade any ships “entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas,” but said it would allow other ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz, hours after President Trump had said the United States would fully block the economically vital waterway.

 

The blockade on Iranian ports would begin on Monday at 10 a.m. Eastern time, U.S. Central Command said in a statement posted on social media, adding that U.S. “forces will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.”

 

Though the statement said the move was “in accordance with the President’s proclamation,” it appeared to soften Mr. Trump’s earlier vow to block “any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz.” In an interview with Fox News in the morning, the president had reiterated it would be a “complete blockade,” and said traffic through the strait was “all or nothing.”

 

Mr. Trump’s announcement had plunged an already brittle truce between Iran and the United States into further uncertainty after Saturday’s marathon peace talks between top Iranian and American leaders in Pakistan ended without a breakthrough.

 

An adviser to Mojtaba Khamenei, the supreme leader, warned that Iran had “large, untouched levers” to counter any naval blockade. Its top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s Parliament, directly addressed American consumers: “Soon you’ll be nostalgic for $4–$5 gas.”

 

Iran has choked off shipping in the strait — through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil normally flows — since the war started, allowing through only its own ships and a few others. As a result, global oil prices had soared by more than 50 percent during the conflict, and the United States had demanded that Iran reopen the strait and conditioned the truce on Tehran doing so.

 

Vice President JD Vance, who led the U.S. negotiating team, said early Sunday that the talks in Islamabad — the highest-level face-to-face encounter between U.S. and Iranian leaders since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution — had ended with Iran choosing “not to accept our terms.” The chief Iranian negotiator, Mr. Ghalibaf, said on social media that the United States had been “unable to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation” in this round of talks.

 

Analysts said the issues dividing the two countries were so complex — and their differences so entrenched — that cinching a deal in a single round of talks had been highly unlikely. The key differences center on the fate of nearly 900 pounds of highly enriched uranium, frozen Iranian revenues held abroad, and the Strait of Hormuz.

 

Neither Mr. Trump nor Mr. Ghalibaf appeared to rule out additional negotiations. Mr. Trump told Fox News that his threats had forced Iran “to the bargaining table and they haven’t left,” adding that he believed the United States would eventually get “everything” it wanted from Iran.

 

Here’s what else we’re covering:

 

Economic woes: Oil prices rose on Sunday after the peace talks failed to produce a deal. The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, rose more than 7 percent to around $102 a barrel. Mr. Trump earlier in the day downplayed the economic effects of the war, which have been a political liability. Asked on Fox News if oil and gas prices could fall by the time the midterm elections are held in November, he said they “could be the same or maybe a little bit higher” — an indication that the economic turmoil of the war could linger for months.

 

Israel and Lebanon: Israel was not involved in the weekend negotiations and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu avoided mentioning them in an address on Saturday evening as he faces criticism at home over the cease-fire with Iran. Israel has kept up deadly attacks on southern Lebanon, including on Sunday morning, according to Lebanon’s state media. Iran had accused Israel of breaking the cease-fire by continuing to attack in Lebanon, leading Mr. Trump to ask Israel to rein in its assault. The Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States are expected to meet in Washington this week for rare direct talks.

 

Death tolls: The Human Rights Activists News Agency said at least 1,701 civilians, including 254 children, had been killed in Iran as of Wednesday. Lebanon’s health ministry on Saturday said that 2,020 people had been killed in the latest fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, including 357 in a wave of Israeli strikes on Wednesday. In attacks attributed to Iran, at least 32 people have been killed in Gulf nations. At least 22 people had been killed in Israel as of Sunday, as well as 12 Israeli soldiers fighting in Lebanon. The American death toll stands at 13 service members.