US says blockade has completely halted trade at Iran's ports

A naval blockade has “completely halted economic trade going into and out of Iran by sea,” the US military said on Wednesday.

The blockade of all of Iran’s ports began on Monday afternoon, after the Islamic Republic had effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping more than a month ago.

The strait is a crucial shipping channel, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil passes, giving Tehran a great deal of leverage in its war with the US and Israel.

In a statement, US Central Command’s Admiral Brad Cooper said: “An estimated 90% of Iran’s economy is fueled by international trade by sea.

“In less than 36 hours since the blockade was implemented, US forces have completely halted economic trade going into and out of Iran by sea.”

Donald Trump has said the US is still open to negotiating with Iran. / Credit: AP

US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a blockade came after negotiations between Iran and the US, held in Pakistan, failed to reach a breakthrough at the weekend.

Hinting at further talks in Pakistan, Trump told an ABC’s chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Kar that he didn’t think it would be necessary to extent a two-week ceasefire due to end on 21 April.

“I think you’re going to be watching an amazing two days ahead,” Trump said.

“It could end either way, but I think a deal is preferable because then they can rebuild.

“They really do have a different regime now. No matter what, we took out the radicals.”

Meanwhile US Vice President JD Vance said that Iran could “thrive” if it commits to not having a nuclear weapon – one of the key issues Washington says is driving its war.

JD Vance told a Turning Point USA event that Trump wants to make a ‘grand bargain’. / Credit: AP

“We’re going to make it economically prosperous, and we’re going to invite the Iranian people into the world economy in a way they haven’t been in my entire life,” he told a Turning Point USA event in Georgia.

Vance added that Trump “doesn’t want to make, like, a small deal. He wants to make the grand bargain”.

Pakistan said on Tuesday that it was pursuing efforts to help the US and Iran negotiate an end to the war, after Trump told the New York Post earlier that a second round of talks with Iran “could be happening over next two days”.

Meanwhile, Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad said talks between Lebanon and Israel in Washington were “constructive”.

The war in Iran reignited fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, and Washington has said this strand of the conflict is not included in the ongoing ceasefire.

Israeli Ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter praised his Lebanese counterparts after the two-hour meeting, saying “we’re on the same side of the equation.”

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah opposes the direct talks and has said it won’t abide by any agreements made as a result.

The fighting in the Middle East has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,100 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. In addition, 13 US service members have been killed.