President Donald Trump said today that the US Navy will begin blocking shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and detaining any ship that has paid a fee to Iran, after US peace talks with Tehran failed, CNN reports.
“Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the best in the world, will begin the process of Blocking any and all ships attempting to enter or exit the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump wrote on Social Truth. “At some point, we will get to a ‘ALL IN, ALL OUT’ basis, but Iran has not allowed that to happen by simply saying, ‘There may be a mine somewhere out there,’ which no one knows about but them. THIS IS GLOBAL BLACKMAIL.”
Trump also said the US would block passage for any ship that has paid a fee to Iran and would begin removing mines from the strait.
“I have also ordered our Navy to search for and seize any vessel in international waters that has paid a toll to Iran,” he wrote. “No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas. We will also begin destroying the mines the Iranians have placed in the strait. Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be DESTROYED!”
Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz caused global economic turmoil, and a key condition for the US to reach a peace deal with Iran was that they allow free passage through this waterway.
In a second tweet, Trump even reiterated this condition, saying: "As promised, they better start the process of making this INTERNATIONAL WATERWAY OPEN AND FAST!"
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