As President Donald Trump announced a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a senior U.S. Justice Department official said the U.S. threatened to “severely prosecute” anyone who buys or sells sanctioned Iranian oil.
The blockade was announced after US-Iran peace talks in Islamabad on Sunday failed to reach an agreement to end the war that began on February 28.
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Branch posted on
On Sunday, U.S. Central Command said its forces would implement a blockade of all maritime traffic to and from Iranian ports starting at 10 a.m. ET on April 13, in accordance with a presidential proclamation.
“The blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels from all countries entering and exiting Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports in the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman,” Central Command said. “CENTCOM forces will not impede the freedom of navigation of vessels entering or exiting non-Iranian ports through the Strait of Hormuz.”
Trump said the U.S. blockade was intended to prevent Iran from policing the strait and benefiting economically from it, while the rest of the world suffered from the blockade.
“At some point we will get to a ‘all in, all out’ basis, but instead of allowing that to happen, Iran is just saying ‘there might be a mine in there’ and no one knows but them,” he said in a post on the Society of Truth.
“This is a worldwide blackmail, and leaders, especially the leaders of the United States of America, will never be blackmailed,” he said.
Trump told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” that the effort would be a “total blockade” and “all or nothing,” meaning no ships would be allowed through until Iran relents.
Trump also announced in the post that the U.S. Navy will “search and intercept all ships in international waters that have made payments to Iran.”
Central Command said it will provide commercial mariners with more information through formal notifications before the lockdown begins.
All sailors are advised to pay close attention to the “Instructions for Mariners” broadcast and contact the U.S. Navy on Bridge-to-Bridge Channel 16 when operating approaches to the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz.
Last week, Central Command began preparations for mine clearance operations in the Strait of Hormuz.
Arleigh Burke-class DDGs USS Frank E. Peterson Jr. and USS Michael Murphy transited the strait to establish a “safe passage” for global commerce after receiving reports of mines being laid by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Central Command said it was part of a broader mission to ensure the strait is “completely cleared” of mines laid by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.
