U.S. President Donald Trump announced today (Sunday) a dramatic escalation in the confrontation with Iran, declaring a full naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
The move comes just hours after reports of the unsuccessful conclusion of a round of talks between the American and Iranian delegations in Pakistan, and after the White House made clear it would not tolerate illegal transit fees being collected in the strait’s international waters.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: "Iran promised to open the Strait of Hormuz, and they knowingly failed to do so. This caused anxiety, dislocation, and pain to many people and Countries throughout the World. They say they put mines in the water, even though all of their Navy, and most of their 'mine droppers,'" have been completely blown up. They may have done so, but what ship owner would want to take the chance? There is great dishonor and permanent harm to the reputation of Iran, and what’s left of their 'Leaders,' but we are beyond all of that." As they promised, they better begin the process of getting this INTERNATIONAL WATERWAY OPEN AND FAST! Every Law in the book is being violated by them."
He added: "I have been fully debriefed by Vice President JD Vance, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, on the meeting that took place in Islamabad through the kind and very competent leadership of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan. They are very extraordinary men, and continuously thank me for saving 30 to 50 million lives in what would have been a horrendous War with India. I always appreciate hearing that - The amount of Humanity spoken of is incomprehensible."
"The meeting with Iran began early in the morning, and lasted throughout the night - Close to 20 hours. I could go into great detail, and talk about much that has been gotten but, there is only one thing that matters - IRAN IS UNWILLING TO GIVE UP ITS NUCLEAR AMBITIONS! In many ways, the points that were agreed to are better than us continuing our Military Operations to conclusion, but all of those points don’t matter compared to allowing Nuclear Power to be in the hands of such volatile, difficult, unpredictable people. My three Representatives, as all of this time went by, became, not surprisingly, very friendly and respectful of Iran’s Representatives, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, Abbas Araghchi, and Ali Bagheri, but that doesn’t matter because they were very unyielding as to the single most important issue and, as I have always said, right from the beginning, and many years ago, IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!" he wrote
Addressing the issue of the Strait of Hormuz, Trump declared: "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. 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. 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. 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! President DONALD J. TRUMP," the President's post concluded.
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance said this morning (Sunday) that the talks between the United States and Iran, held in Pakistan, ended after 21 hours without an agreement, after Iran refused to accept Washington’s conditions for a deal.
At a press conference in Islamabad, Vance described the talks as substantive, but ultimately unsuccessful in reaching an agreement.
"We've been at it now for 21 hours, and we've had a number of substantive discussions with the Iranians. That's the good news," he said. "The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement. And I think that's bad news for Iran much more than it's bad news for the United States of America."
He added, "So we go back to the United States having not come to an agreement."
Vance emphasized that the United States had clearly communicated its positions during the negotiations.
"We've made very clear what our red lines are, what things we're willing to accommodate them on, and what things we're not willing to accommodate them on. And we've made that as clear as we possibly could, and they have chosen not to accept our terms," the Vice President said.
When asked what specifically Iran had rejected, Vance declined to detail the private discussions publicly.
"Well, I won't go into all the details because I don't want to negotiate in public after we negotiated for 21 hours in private," he said. "But the simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon. That is the core goal of the President of the United States, and that's what we've tried to achieve through these negotiations."
Vance noted the current state of Iran's nuclear infrastructure while stressing the need for long-term commitment.
"Again, their nuclear programs, such as it is, the enrichment facilities that they've had before, they've been destroyed. But the simple question is, do we see a fundamental commitment of will for the Iranians not to develop a nuclear weapon, not just now, not just two years from now, but for the long term? We haven't seen that yet. We hope that we will," he said.
He described the US approach as flexible and conducted in good faith.
"The President told us, you need to come here in good faith and make your best effort to get a deal. We did that, and unfortunately we weren't able to make any headway."
Vance confirmed that he remained in constant contact with President Trump and the national security team throughout the lengthy talks. He concluded by noting that the United States is leaving the talks with what he called its “final offer."
After the vice president announced the failure of the talks in Pakistan, Iran’s Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, also reported that the negotiations ended without an agreement. “Excessive U.S. demands are hindering a framework and a joint agreement," the statement said.