US PREPARES FOR HORMUZ BLOCKADE: The failure of high-stakes talks in Islamabad has catapulted an already unstable war in West Asia to a new, dangerous stage, as US President Donald Trump declared a comprehensive naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. In making the promise to impose restrictions on vessels of all nations, Washington has virtually extended the confrontation way beyond Tehran, increasing the possibility of a larger geopolitical crisis, one that could bring the major powers, especially China and Europe, almost to the heart of the conflict.
US Prepares for Strait of Hormuz Blockade
The US military will start imposing a blockade on all sea traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz today at approximately 7.30 pm (IST), soon after President Donald Trump ordered it.
The military, however, claimed that it will not stand in the way of the freedom of navigation of vessels passing through Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.
Strait of Hormuz Crisis Deepens as US Announces Naval Blockade
The Strait of Hormuz had been blocked by Iran since the US and Israel started the bombing campaign of the Islamic nation. The US military had reported that two US warships had passed through the strait as it began a mine clearance mission. Iran rejected the allegation stating that it had blocked the US warships as they crossed the strait.
The US and Iran could not find any consensus on Sunday in the peace talks in Islamabad in Pakistan, the highest level meeting between the two parties since the 1979 Islamic revolution, the most contentious issues being nuclear weapons and the Hormuz.
Strait blockade: US military reported that it will impose a blockade on all traffic that comes in and out of Iranian ports in Strait of Hormuz beginning 10 am EST today, since Pakistan peace talks over the weekend failed. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran has been threatening to retaliate.
Markets shaken: Oil prices are up above $100 a barrel, and stock markets are down as the failed negotiations and potential blockade threatened to cause more havoc to the world economy.
Pope criticism: Pope Leo XIV replied that he has no fear of the Trump administration and will still speak, following criticism by President Donald Trump, who both condemned his position on the war in Iran and said he was a terrible person on foreign policy.
Increase in oil prices
Oil prices and stock markets are crashing today, following the announcement by the US military that it would impose a shipping blockade in the Strait of Hormuz- a step that may challenge the present ceasefire besides tightening oil supply in the world.
The world oil standard, known as Brent crude, increased by over 8 percent in the morning trade to $103 a barrel, equivalent to 40 percent since the war began. The US benchmark, WTI, rose by a comparable price to $104.7 a barrel, over 50% greater than it was prior to the war virtually sealing the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran threatens Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman ports
Iran: the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened today that not a single port in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman would be safe in case its own ports were threatened, Iranian state media reported, despite a planned US blockade.
The US military announced on Sunday that it will impose a blockade on all traffic in and out of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz starting 10 a.m. ET Monday following the unsuccessful negotiations in Pakistan over the weekend.
