MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Trump escalates Gulf crisis with order for total blockade of Strait of Hormuz

“No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas,” Trump wrote

US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that the Navy would immediately begin blocking all maritime traffic attempting to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz, and ordered the interception on the high seas of any vessel that has paid a toll to Iran.

“I have also instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran. No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, hours after US-Iran peace talks in Islamabad ended without a deal.

The move marks a major escalation in the crisis engulfing the world's most important energy shipping corridor. Roughly 20% of globally traded oil and liquefied natural gas normally transits the strait, which lies between Iran, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

The talks in the Pakistani capital, mediated by Islamabad and led on the US side by Vice President JD Vance, concluded without agreement. Trump acknowledged that “most points were agreed” but said the two sides failed to reach consensus on Iran's nuclear program. Vance said after the meeting that Washington needs a commitment that Tehran will not pursue nuclear weapons. The Iranian delegation described the negotiations as having been conducted “in an atmosphere of mistrust,” according to Reuters.

The strait has been virtually closed since February 28, 2026, when the United States and Israel launched an air campaign against Iran. Since then, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has forbidden unauthorized passage, carried out at least 21 confirmed attacks on merchant vessels and reportedly laid sea mines in the waterway. Iran has also demanded a toll of one dollar per barrel of oil on board, payable in cryptocurrency, according to the Financial Times.

The shipping paralysis has had sweeping global consequences. More than 600 vessels remain stranded in the Gulf region, according to Lloyd's List, and the International Maritime Organization estimates that some 20,000 mariners have been trapped. Brent crude prices surged 10% to 13% in the early weeks of the crisis, with analysts warning they could exceed $100 per barrel if disruptions persist.

A day before announcing the blockade, Trump posted that US forces had begun clearing mines from the strait and that all 28 of Iran's minelaying vessels had been sunk. Iran denied that US warships had crossed the waterway.

Iranian Deputy Parliament Speaker Ali Nikzad responded that in 40 days of war the United States “has learned that the victorious side is determined by the will of nations and superiority on the battlefield, not by rhetoric on social media.”