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A significant naval operation is set to commence as the United States prepares to implement a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. The action will begin at 10 a.m. US Eastern Time on Monday, which corresponds to 12 a.m. Tuesday AEST.
In a declaration made on Truth Social, former President Donald Trump underscored the commencement of this blockade, stating, “Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will initiate a blockade on any and all ships attempting to enter or exit the Strait of Hormuz.”
Trump elaborated on the situation, explaining that the goal is to eventually permit unrestricted passage. However, he attributed the delay to Iran’s claims of potential mines in the area, which remain unverified by other parties.
The U.S. Central Command has clarified that ships traveling between non-Iranian ports will still be permitted to pass through the strait, although specifics on how this will be managed are yet to be disclosed.
In an official post on X, CENTCOM stated, “The blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations, targeting those entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal regions, including all ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.”
The president said he instructed the US Navy to interdict any ship in international waters that had paid an “illegal” toll to Iran.
“No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas,” he added.
Trump has claimed “other countries” will be involved in the blockade and that the US military was “locked and loaded” to resume attacks against Iran.
“Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!” he said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia had not been asked to join the US blockade.
“We haven’t been asked to participate. We’ve received no requests that we haven’t agreed to,” he told Today this morning.
He described the Trump administration as carrying out its blockade in a “unilateral way”.
Trump has also claimed the US had completely destroyed sea mines in the Strait.
“Our Military will finish up the little that is left of Iran!” he wrote on Truth Social.
He again urged Iran to open the Strait before the looming deadline.
“As they promised, they better begin the process of getting this INTERNATIONAL WATERWAY OPEN AND FAST!” he added.
Questions linger over whether this maritime war strategy will achieve Trump’s objective of reopening the Strait to commercial vessels.
Virginia senator Mark Warner, a ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CNN he did not “understand how blockading the Strait is going to somehow push the Iranians into opening it”.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned that any warship approaching the Strait would be regarded as a breach of the ceasefire agreement and would be responded to “harshly and decisively”.
Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said any US blockade would only push oil prices higher.
“Enjoy the current pump figures,” he said in a post on X, noting the current fuel prices in the US.
“With the so-called ‘blockade’, soon you’ll be nostalgic for $4–$5 gas.”
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