“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.
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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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“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.