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President Trump says US Navy will begin blockade of Strait of Hormuz

PHOTO: A vessel passes through Strait of Hormuz following the two-week temporary ceasefire reached between the United States and Iran on the condition that the strait be reopened, seen in Oman on April 8, 2026.
2:54
Shady Alassar/Anadolu via Getty Images
US to blockade ships to and from Iran's ports
By David Brennan, Jon Haworth, Nadine El-Bawab, Kevin Shalvey
Last Updated: April 13, 2026, 10:11 AM

President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military and government sites.

Trump set a deadline for Iran to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face broad strikes on its critical infrastructure. Hours before the deadline expired, Trump said he had agreed to suspend planned bombing for two weeks if Iran agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi then said that "safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran's Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he supported the ceasefire with Iran, but that Lebanon -- where intense Israeli strikes continued -- was not covered by the agreement, despite Iranian protests.

Key Headlines

  • US blockade of Iranian ports to begin Monday, CENTCOM says
  • Military vessels approaching Strait of Hormuz 'will be met with severe force,' IRGC says
  • DOJ will 'vigorously prosecute' buyers or sellers of sanctioned Iranian oil, Blanche says
  • Despite blockade announcement, Trump urges Iran to open Strait of Hormuz
  • President Trump says US Navy will begin blockade of Strait of Hormuz
Here's how the news is developing.

Apr 13, 2026 10:11 AM

Trump lashes out against Pope Leo XIV over criticism of Iran war

President Donald Trump on Sunday night lashed out against Pope Leo XIV on social media, calling the first-ever American pontiff “weak” over his calls for the U.S. war in Iran to end.

“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” Trump wrote on social media. The president added, “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.”

In recent weeks, the Pope has criticized the war in Iran and called for peace in the Middle East.

Earlier this month, the Pope asked “all people of goodwill to search always for peace and not violence, to reject war, especially a war which many people have said is an unjust war, which is continuing to escalate and which is not resolving anything.”

And on Saturday, the Pope referred to the U.S. military offensive in Iran as a “delusion of omnipotence,” imploring the country leaders to come to a peace agreement.

-ABC News' Fritz Farrow and Emily Chang


Apr 13, 2026 10:11 AM

US blockade of Iranian ports to begin Monday, CENTCOM says

U.S. forces will begin a blockade of maritime traffic to and from Iranian ports Monday morning, according to U.S. Central Command.

"U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces will begin implementing a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports on April 13 at 10 a.m. ET, in accordance with the President’s proclamation," according to a CENTCOM statement late Sunday afternoon.

PHOTO: Guided-missile destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121) sails in the Arabian Sea during Operation Epic Fury, on March 18, 2026.
U.S. Navy
Guided-missile destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121) sails in the Arabian Sea during Operation Epic Fury, on March 18, 2026.
U.S. Navy

"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 Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman," the statement continued, adding that CENTCOM forces "will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports."

President Donald Trump said Sunday morning in a post on his social media platform that the U.S. will "immediately" begin a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, following the failure of peace negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.

Commercial mariners will be provided with additional information prior to the start of the blockade, according to CENTCOM, which also advised "all mariners" to monitor advisory broadcasts and contact U.S. naval forces "when operating in the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz approaches."


Apr 13, 2026 10:11 AM

US-Iran talks stalled over several key issues, US official says

A U.S. official close to the U.S.-Iran negotiations this weekend tells ABC News that the two sides went home Saturday after failing to agree on several key issues, despite President Donald Trump's statements Sunday in a social media post that the "meeting went well" and "most points were agreed to," save for Iran's alleged refusal to abandon their nuclear ambitions.

According to the U.S. official, the key points on which Iran would not concede include ending all uranium enrichment, dismantling all major nuclear enrichment facilities and allowing the U.S. to retrieve any highly enriched uranium Iran may possess; accepting a broader peace, security and de-escalation framework that includes regional allies; ending funding for terrorist proxies Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis; and fully opening the Strait of Hormuz and not charging tolls for passage.

All of these points were red lines for the U.S., the official said.

-ABC News' Hannah Demissie and Justin Fishel



Apr 13, 2026 10:11 AM

Military vessels approaching Strait of Hormuz 'will be met with severe force,' IRGC says

Iran's paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Sunday that any military vessels approaching the Strait of Hormuz "will be considered a violation of the ceasefire and will be met with severe force," according to Iran's semiofficial Fars news agency.

"The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy states that, contrary to the false claims of some enemy officials, the Strait of Hormuz is under smart control and management, and remains open for the safe passage of non-military vessels in accordance with specific regulations," the statement also said.

-ABC News' Morgan Winsor and Nasser Atta


Apr 12, 2026 1:53 PM

President Trump says US Navy will begin blockade of Strait of Hormuz

President Donald Trump said that the U.S. will "immediately" begin a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, following the failure of peace negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.

"[T]he meeting went well, most points were agreed to, but the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not," Trump wrote on his social media platform Sunday. "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."

The president did not provide specifics in his social media posts. ABC News has reached out to the White House for comment.

PHOTO: Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) transits the Arabian Sea, Feb. 1, 2026.
Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jonteil Johnson/U.S. Navy
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) transits the Arabian Sea, Feb. 1, 2026.
Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jonteil Johnson/U.S. Navy

Trump's statement comes after Vice President JD Vance, leading a U.S. delegation for high-stakes talks with Iran, said Saturday that the two sides had not reached a deal despite negotiations lasting some 21 hours in Islamabad, Pakistan. Though he declined to provide specifics about why the negotiations deteriorated, Vance said it was in part because the U.S. did not see the "fundamental commitment" from the Iranians not to develop a nuclear weapon in the long term.

PHOTO: Vice President JD Vance arrives in Pakistan for Iran war peace talks, April 11, 2026.
Jacquelyn Martin, Pool via AFP via Getty Images
US Vice President JD Vance (C) walks with Pakistan's Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshall Asim Munir (L) and Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar after arriving for talks with Iranian officials in Islamabad, on April 11, 2026.
Jacquelyn Martin, Pool via AFP via Getty Images

Calling Iran's blockage of the Strait of Hormuz "WORLD EXTORTION," the president also said that he had "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," Trump wrote. "Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!"

"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," the president wrote. "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!"


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