US Central Command has said its forces will begin implementing a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports from April 13 at 10 am ET (1400 GMT) in accordance with President Donald Trump’s proclamation.
The blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Gulf and Gulf of Oman, the command said.
CENTCOM said its forces will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.
It added that additional information will be issued to commercial mariners through a formal notice ahead of the start of the blockade.
Mariners have been advised to monitor Notice to Mariners broadcasts and contact US naval forces on bridge-to-bridge channel 16 while operating in the Gulf of Oman and approaches to the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran's "unyielding" refusal
Earlier, Trump ordered a US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in response to what he termed Iran's "unyielding" refusal to give up its nuclear ambitions during peace talks in Islamabad.
“The blockade will begin shortly. Other countries will be involved in this blockade. Iran will not be allowed to profit off this illegal act of extortion,” Trump said on his Truth Social media platform on Sunday.
While acknowledging that the marathon talks in Pakistan had gone "well" and "most points were agreed to”, Trump said Tehran had refused to concede on the issue of its nuclear programme.
"Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the finest in the world, will begin the process of blockading any ships trying to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz," Trump said.
Trump said he had instructed the Navy to interdict any vessel in international waters that has paid a toll to Iran for passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
He also said US forces would begin destroying Iranian mines in the strategic waterway, warning that any Iranian who fired at US vessels or commercial shipping “will be blown to hell".
