The US military claims that the US has organized a complete naval blockade of Iran. US President Donald Trump later declared that he was “opening the Strait of Hormuz”.
According to the commander of the US Central Command, Brad Cooper, "the blockade of Iranian ports is fully implemented as US forces maintain maritime superiority in the Middle East".
“It is estimated that 90% of Iran’s economy depends on international maritime trade. Less than 36 hours after imposing the blockade, US forces completely halted economic trade by sea — both to and from Iran,” he wrote.
The WSJ, citing a US official, wrote that since the blockade began, the US Navy has intercepted eight oil tankers entering or leaving Iranian ports. In all cases, US forces contacted the crews by radio and ordered them to change course.
Other sources told the WSJ that about 20 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz during the first day of the blockade. Among them were cargo, container and tanker ships entering and leaving the Persian Gulf.
After these reports, Trump wrote the following on TruthSocial: "China is very happy that I am opening the Strait of Hormuz forever. I am doing this for them too — and for the whole world. This situation will never happen again. They agreed not to supply weapons to Iran".
- On April 11, American warships entered the Strait of Hormuz for the first time since the start of the war: the destroyers Frank E. Peterson and Michael Murphy. The American military said that their task was to clear the water area of Iranian mines and form a new route for ships.
- However, on the evening of April 13, the naval blockade of Iran began. US President Donald Trump threatened to destroy vessels approaching American ships that are blocking Iranian ports.
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