Donald Trump has thrown the global energy market into chaos with a stark declaration: the US Navy will immediately blockade the Strait of Hormuz. In a fiery Truth Social post, the US president vowed to start “BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz.” He added that the US Navy is going to begin “destroying the mines the Iranians laid in the straits,” warning that any Iranian who fires at the US or at “peaceful vessels will be blown to hell.”
“No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas,” Trump wrote, asserting that the blockade—involving unspecified other countries—will “begin shortly.” He accused Iran of profiting from “this Illegal Act of EXTORTION,” claiming, “They want money and, more importantly, they want Nuclear.”
Trump doubled down on his threats in a phone interview with Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo, reiterating his pledge to destroy Iran’s civilian energy infrastructure if no deal is reached to end the war. “I could take out Iran in one day,” he said. “I could have their entire energy everything, every one of their plants, their electric generating plants, which is a big deal.”
Legal scholars are sounding the alarm, warning that such actions could constitute war crimes. Agnès Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty International, stated last week, “Intentionally attacking civilian infrastructure constitute war crimes under international law.” She emphasized, “Even in the limited cases that civilian infrastructure qualify as military targets, a party still cannot attack them if this may cause disproportionate harm to civilians.” Callamard added, “Power plants, water systems and energy infrastructure are indispensable to civilian life, underpinning access to clean water, medical care, hospital electricity, food supply chains, and basic livelihoods. Attacking them would be disproportionate and thus unlawful under international humanitarian law and could amount to a war crime.”
Trump also revealed that international support is mobilizing for the blockade effort. He told Fox News that “numerous countries are going to be helping us” with the Strait of Hormuz, specifically naming the UK as sending minesweepers to remove Iranian mines. “We have minesweepers there. Now we have highly sophisticated underwater minesweepers, which are the latest and the greatest, but we’re also bringing in more traditional minesweepers,” Trump said. “And so I understand is the UK and a couple of other countries are sending mine sweepers.” Downing Street has not publicly confirmed this, though the UK has been working on a “practical” plan to reopen the strait.
Despite his bold claims, Trump acknowledged that the blockade may “take a little while” to implement, though he insisted it won’t “take long” to “clean out” the strait. He also claimed that NATO, which he has repeatedly criticized, wants to help with unblocking the vital waterway.
The geopolitical stakes are immense. Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), warned on X that the Strait of Hormuz has never been Iran’s to close or restrict navigation through. “Any attempt to do so is not merely a regional issue, but represents a disruption to a global economic lifeline and a direct threat to the energy, food, and health security of all countries in the world,” he said. “This behavior is illegal, dangerous, and unacceptable, and the world cannot bear its consequences or allow it to happen.”
Al Jaber reported that at least 22 ships have been targeted and nearly 400 oil tankers stranded since February 28, when the US and Israel launched their war on Iran by killing the country’s former supreme leader in airstrikes on Tehran. In response, Iran effectively closed the strait, allowing only a small number of ships from “friendly” countries like China, Malaysia, and Pakistan through. Iranian authorities have since demanded tolls on vessels transiting the waterway, where roughly 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas usually passes.
Tehran’s 10-point ceasefire plan would reportedly permit Iran and Oman to charge up to $2 million per ship. The Iranian deputy parliament speaker, Haji Babaei, stated that the strait is “completely” under Iranian control and tolls must be paid in rials, according to the Mehr news agency.
Meanwhile, the human cost of the conflict continues to mount. In Lebanon, Israeli strikes have killed more than 350 people, with heavy bombardment persisting. Aline Saeed, 7, survived a strike on her home in Srifa last week, but her infant sister and other relatives were killed. “They said it was a ceasefire. Like all these people, we went up to the village. We went to the casket to read the prayers and walk home … suddenly we felt like a storm was landing right on us,” said her grandfather, Nasser Saeed, 64.
Dr. Abbas Attiyeh, head of emergency operations at Tyre’s Jabal Amel hospital, described last week’s bombardment as one of the heaviest in recent years, with many children among the wounded. “The challenges we’re facing now are the numbers of wounded that come at the same time, within the same 30 minutes or hour,” he said.
On the diplomatic front, peace talks in Pakistan failed to produce a breakthrough. Trump blamed Iran, writing on Truth Social, “IRAN IS UNWILLING TO GIVE UP ITS NUCLEAR AMBITIONS! In many ways, the points that were agreed to are better than us continuing our Military Operations to conclusion, but all of those points don’t matter compared to allowing Nuclear Power to be in the hands of such volatile, difficult, unpredictable people.” He said Saturday’s meeting in Islamabad lasted close to 20 hours.
Iranian officials downplayed the stalling of negotiations. Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said, “Naturally, from the beginning we should not have expected to reach an agreement in a single session. No one had such an expectation.” Parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf noted Iran had no “trust in the opposing side” after “the experiences of the two previous wars.”
In Tehran, citizens reacted with a mix of disappointment and defiance. Farhad Simia, 43, said, “I’m against war. I think negotiation is the better path,” blaming “inappropriate demands” by the US for the failure. Mehdi Hosseini, also 43, added, “The fact that the Iranian negotiating team managed to preserve what it achieved in the war, while refusing to back down and surrender, gives reason for hope.” Streets were lined with flags and billboards, including one reading “The Strait Remains Closed.”
Former Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif posted on X that the talks failed because “Iran is not going to accept terms dictated to it by the US.” He wrote, “No negotiations – at least with Iran – will succeed based on ‘our/your terms.’ The US must learn: you can’t dictate terms to Iran. It’s not too late to learn. Yet.” Zarif was in office when the US reached its nuclear deal with Iran in 2015 under Barack Obama; Trump exited the agreement in 2018.
International calls for de-escalation are growing. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Sultan of Oman agreed in a call that all sides should avoid “any further escalation.” A Downing Street spokesperson said, “They discussed the peace talks held in Pakistan over the weekend and urged both sides to find a way through. It was vital there was a continuation of the ceasefire, and that all parties avoided any further escalation, the leaders agreed.”
Saudi Arabia reported that energy facilities and the east-west pipeline damaged by attacks have “recovered and regained their operational capacity, enhancing the reliability of supplies,” according to the official Saudi Press Agency.
In a separate maritime incident, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that a group armed with automatic weapons tried to board a vessel in the Red Sea. “The crew requested that the sailing vessel stopped and when the Master refused they attempted to pull the skiff alongside to board,” UKMTO said. The master deployed a flare, and the skiff departed. The incident occurred off the coast of Yemen.
Israel’s finance ministry revealed that the war on Iran has cost 35 billion shekels ($11.52 billion) in budgetary expenses, with 22 billion shekels ($7.3 billion) going to defence, according to a preliminary estimate added to the 2026 budget.
Trump signed off one Truth Social post by saying the US was “fully locked and loaded,” warning Iran that the American military “will finish up the little that is left” of the country if he decides on future action. These threats are unlikely to foster positive relations before any diplomatic talks, potentially signaling warnings of US military attacks if Iran resists the blockade.
As tensions simmer, the world watches a volatile standoff that could redefine global energy security and international law.
