“THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ IS COMPLETELY OPEN AND READY FOR BUSINESS AND FULL PASSAGE. THE NAVAL BLOCKADE WILL REMAIN IN FULL FORCE AND EFFECT AS IT PERTAINS TO IRAN, ONLY, UNTIL SUCH TIME AS OUR TRANSACTION WITH IRAN IS 100% COMPLETE.
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Trump Orders U.S. Navy Blockade of Strait of Hormuz
April 12, 2026
Hours after the Islamabad peace talks collapsed without a deal on April 12, 2026, President Trump announced the U.S. Navy would "immediately" begin blockading the Strait of Hormuz — the chokepoint for 20% of global energy supplies. Trump ordered the Navy to interdict "any and all ships" entering or leaving the strait and to seize vessels that have paid tolls to Iran. Oil prices surged above $100/barrel. The blockade is backed by a mine-clearing operation and a 40+ nation coalition led by the U.K. Iran's Revolutionary Guard warned the U.S. would be "trapped in a deadly vortex" if it made the wrong move. Senate Intelligence Vice Chair Mark Warner questioned the logic: the strait was open before the war started.
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“Maybe I won't extend it. But the blockade is gonna remain. So you have a blockade, and unfortunately, we'll have to start dropping bombs again.
“The administration dismissed or failed to fully appreciate the impact of the Strait of Hormuz closure on energy markets.
“Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL! Iranian fast attack ships that come anywhere close to our blockade will be eliminated.
“France and the United Kingdom will hold a conference in the coming days aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in the strait. This will be a peaceful multinational and strictly defensive mission, separate from the belligerents.
“This is one of the very worst military and foreign policy actions that the United States has ever taken. Congress must reassert its authority, especially at this dangerous moment. No president, Democrat or Republican, should take this country to war alone. Not now. Not ever. All of this happens when one man, especially a man acting as unhinged as Donald Trump, has unchecked power to wage war.
“A naval blockade is an act of war under international law. The president has no authority to impose one without congressional authorization. We will force a vote. The American people did not elect one man to decide unilaterally whether to blockade the world's most critical energy chokepoint.
“We are not supporting the blockade. The United Kingdom is not getting dragged into the US-Israel war on Iran. We continue to support freedom of navigation and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, which is urgently needed to support the global economy.
“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. I have also instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran. We will also destroy every mine that these Iranian Terrorists have dropped in the Strait.
“Ships will be sailing through Hormuz. It's time for the rest of the world to step up and ensure that that stays open, after President Trump and the War Department brought Iran to the place where they are voluntarily opening it right now.
“I don't understand how blockading the strait is somehow going to push the Iranians into opening it. The Strait of Hormuz was open before this war started. Gas in Virginia was $2.81 forty days ago and is over $4 now. Even if the president declares victory tomorrow, those high gas prices will be with us for months.
“The president is doing the right thing. This is a strategic decision to allow the United States to establish control over the waterway. Iran cannot be allowed to extort the global economy.