According to CENTCOM, ships will continue to be able to transit the Strait of Hormuz to and from ports other than Iran. Iran has warned that any approaching warships will violate the ceasefire.
Published April 13, 2026
The US military announced on Monday that it would begin a blockade of all Iranian ports. It is the latest step to put pressure on Tehran after long-running peace talks in Pakistan ended without an agreement.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement Sunday night that the blockade will apply to “all maritime traffic in and out of Iranian ports” starting April 13 at 10 a.m. ET (14 p.m. Japan time). This includes “vessels of all countries entering and exiting ports and coastal areas of Iran,” including the Gulf of Iran and the Gulf of Oman.
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But the U.S. military “will not impede the freedom of navigation of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports,” Centcom said, a clear step back from President Donald Trump’s previous threat to close the entire strait and go after ships paying tolls to Iran.
“There are a lot of questions here,” said Heidi Chou Castro of Al Jazeera in Washington, D.C., pointing to “contradictory information” coming out of the U.S. side.
“President Trump said the blockade would target all ships attempting to enter or exit the Strait of Hormuz. But the Central Communications Authority says it would only target ships entering or exiting Iranian ports.”
U.S. crude oil prices soared 8% to $104.24 a barrel following the U.S. blockade threat. Brent crude, the international standard crude, rose 7% to $102.29.
Since the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28, Iran has effectively taken control of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital gateway for global energy markets. Since then, traffic on the waterway has slowed to a trickle, crippling about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.
Iran continues to allow its own ships to pass through the strait, but allows limited access to ships from other countries. Iranian officials are discussing setting up a toll system after the fighting ends.
In a statement responding to President Trump’s blockade threat, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the warship’s approach would be a violation of the ceasefire between the United States and Iran, which is scheduled to remain in effect until April 22, and would be “severely dealt with.”
The U.S.-declared blockade appears to have been triggered by failed talks in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, raising fears of new fighting.
Iranian officials blamed the US for failing to reach a deal, with Foreign Minister Abbas Aragushi saying US negotiators moved the “goalposts” and sabotaged efforts when a memorandum of understanding was “very close”.
Zore Harazmi, an associate professor at the University of Tehran, said that the U.S. It is “not in a position” to tell Iranians how to act or whether they can “choose which ships pass through.”
“If this blockade becomes a competition between the resilience of the Islamic Republic and the resilience of global markets, it will not take long to see who will lose,” he said, adding that Iran was “bracing for a long war.”
“Technically speaking, they (the United States) have no control over the situation. You cannot win on this battlefield with Hollywood strategies.”
