US Navy to blockade Strait of Hormuz with NATO and UK 'helping' operation

The US president said he had ordered the navy to target vessels that had paid a toll to Iran.
He on Truth Social: “I have instructed our navy to seek and interdict every vessel in international waters that has paid a toll to Iran.”

Trump also said the US would “begin destroying” mines he claimed Iran had laid in the strait.

He added: “Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!” In the same post, Trump warned the US was “FULLY LOCKED AND LOADED”, adding that the American military “will finish up the little that is left of Iran!”

This comes after American and Iranian negotiators have failed to reach an agreement after 21 hours of crunch talks in Islamabad.

Iran has said it has no plans for further negotiations and warned it is in "no hurry" to reopen the Strait of Hormuz - which some reports suggest was the biggest point of tension at the trilateral talks.

Hundreds of tankers remain stuck in the blockaded Gulf as they wait to exit during the two-week ceasefire period.

Previously, Iran had vowed to reopen the Strait during the two-week ceasefire.

Trump also claims NATO wants to assist with operations in the Strait, and claimed the UK would be among the countries involved.

Speaking to Fox News, the US president sai

He said: “We're going to be blockading the Strait of Hormuz, it'll take a little while,” adding that “it won't take long to clean out the strait”.

Trump claimed “numerous countries are going to be helping us” with operations in the waterway, and said the UK and other nations were sending minesweepers.

The US Vice President touched down in Islamabad on Saturday morning to lead the high-stakes talks - which he said failed to produce any results after "Iran has chosen not to accept" the US' terms.

He was joined by special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner - where they came face-to-face with members of the Iranian regime.

"The bad news is we have not reached an agreement," Vance said in an update.

He added that the US had after an "affirmative commitment" that Iran would not attempt to develop nuclear weapons.

He said: "Do we see a fundamental commitment of will for the Iranians not to develop a nuclear weapon... for the long term? We haven't seen that yet."