U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the American military has begun blocking Iran’s ports, escalating tensions as diplomatic talks in Islamabad aimed at ending the war collapsed over the weekend.
Iran warned it could retaliate by targeting ports of its Gulf neighbors, raising fears of a wider regional conflict.
Despite the breakdown, U.S. officials said communication lines with Tehran remain open, with ongoing efforts to reach a deal. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also confirmed that mediation efforts are continuing.
Global markets reacted swiftly, with oil prices surging back to $100 per barrel amid uncertainty over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil shipping routes. The waterway has remained largely closed since the conflict began, marking one of the biggest disruptions in global supply.
Trump said Iran had reached out expressing interest in negotiations but reiterated that any agreement would not allow Tehran to develop nuclear weapons.
“Iran will not have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said, stressing that the U.S. would not allow any country to “blackmail or extort the world.”
Since the war between the United States and Israel and Iran began on February 28, Tehran has restricted passage through the Strait of Hormuz, allowing only Iranian vessels and imposing fees under its control.
Washington has vowed to block Iranian ships and any vessels that comply with Tehran’s toll system. Trump also warned that Iranian “fast-attack” boats approaching the blockade would be destroyed.
Iran’s Defense Ministry spokesperson, Brigadier General Reza Talaei-Nik, cautioned that foreign military intervention in the strait would further escalate the crisis and threaten global energy security.
The Islamabad talks marked the first direct engagement between the U.S. and Iran in over a decade and the highest-level discussions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, but ended without any agreement.
