As peace talks between Iran and the US reached a dead end, US President Donald Trump on Sunday said that his military will begin a naval blockade of all ships trying to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz.In a post on Truth Social, Trump accused Tehran of creating uncertainty in the strait by citing possible naval mines, calling it “world extortion.”“So, there you have it, the meeting went well, most points were agreed to, but the only point that really mattered, nuclear, was not. Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the finest in the world, will begin the process of blockading any and all ships trying to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz. At some point, we will reach an ‘all being allowed to go in, all being allowed to go out’ basis, but Iran has not allowed that to happen by merely saying, ‘there may be a mine out there somewhere,’ that nobody knows about but them,” Trump said.“This is world extortion, and leaders of countries, especially the United States of America, will never be extorted. I have also instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in international waters that has paid a toll to Iran,” he added.Further, Trump said that if Iranian forces fire at US or civilian vessels in the waterway, “they will be blown to hell.”“No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas. We will also begin destroying the mines the Iranians laid in the straits. Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be blown to hell! Iran knows, better than anyone, how to end this situation which has already devastated their country. Their navy is gone, their air force is gone, their anti-aircraft and radar are useless. Khomeini, and most of their ‘leaders,’ are dead, all because of their nuclear ambition,” he said.“The blockade will begin shortly. Other countries will be involved with this blockade. Iran will not be allowed to profit off this illegal act of extortion. They want money and, more importantly, they want nuclear. Additionally and, at an appropriate moment, we are fully ‘locked and loaded,’ and our military will finish up the little that is left of Iran,” he added.This comes after negotiations between the US and Iran collapsed without agreement in Pakistan’s Islamabad. According to US Vice President JD Vance, the core dispute remained Iran’s nuclear programme.Describing it as a “red line” for the Trump administration, the Vice President said Iran was told to end its program and halt uranium enrichment.Meanwhile, Iran said that the demands made by the US are “unreasonable” and blamed the US for the collapse of talks.Iran has long denied seeking nuclear weapons but has insisted on its right to a civilian nuclear programme. Experts say its stockpile of enriched uranium, though not weapons-grade, is only a short technical step away.Since the US and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28, it has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, 2,020 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel, and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states, and caused lasting damage to infrastructure in half a dozen Middle Eastern countries. Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz has largely cut off the Persian Gulf and its oil and gas exports from the global economy, sending energy prices soaring.
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‘Will be blown to hell’: Trump announces blockade of Hormuz, issues stark warning to Iran
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