The US military said it would begin a blockade of all vessels entering and leaving Iranian ports and coastal areas after weekend talks failed to produce an agreement to end the war with Iran.
US Central Command said the blockade, which takes effect at 10 a.m. Monday, will apply to ships from all nations entering or leaving Iranian ports, including those in the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz and from non-Iranian ports will not be affected, the military said.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that US forces would also intercept any ship in international waters that has paid taxes to Iran and that the US Navy would begin destroying mines that the Iranians have laid in the strait.
The Iranian armed forces have threatened to retaliate against the US blockade, calling Washington's announced action illegal and an act of piracy. In a statement published by the IRIB news agency, Iran said it would continue to control the strait even after the war ends, and that ships affiliated with the enemy would not have the right to pass through its territorial waters.
In a warning to other Gulf countries, Iran's military says that the security of ports in the region "is either for everyone or for no one" and if Iranian ports are hit by the US, "no port in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of ??Oman will be safe."
Meanwhile, Parliament Speaker Muhammad Ghalibaf said in a post on X that very soon, the United States will nostalgically recall the gas price of $4-5 per gallon, suggesting negative consequences for American consumers.
Oil prices rose more than 7 percent, to above $100 a barrel, on Monday morning after the announcement of the blockade on Hormuz.