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On Sunday morning, Americans were greeted with news that President Trump had prepared for what seemed to be the inevitable collapse of Vice President JD Vance’s diplomatic efforts to broker a peace deal with Iran. These efforts, aimed at concluding the conflict on terms favorable both politically and militarily to the United States, faced significant challenges. Utilizing Truth Social, President Trump announced that the Strait of Hormuz had been shut down.
Journalist Nick Arama delved into the ramifications of this announcement in his report, highlighting the significant U.S. actions initiated to counter Iran’s maneuvers in the strategic waterway.
This directive involves several complex elements, some of which may appear puzzling at first glance.
Firstly, the U.S. Navy has been tasked with establishing a blockade across the Strait of Hormuz. This move is designed to prevent any vessels from either entering or exiting the strait. To put this into perspective, approximately 1,900 ships are currently in the Persian Gulf awaiting departure, while an estimated 800 ships are stationed in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman, poised to transit through Hormuz.
Secondly, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz effectively means enforcing a blockade on ports in key regional countries, including Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. This action could have significant geopolitical and economic implications for these nations and the broader region.
There are moving parts to this directive, and some of them seem confusing.
1. The U.S. Navy will blockade the Strait of Hormuz and prevent any ship from entering or leaving. From the perspective of scale, there are about 1,900 ships in the Persian Gulf waiting to leave and at least 800 ships in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman waiting to pass through Hormuz.
2. Closing Hormuz means blockading ports in Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE.
3. No one seems sure how to identify which ships paid a “toll” because the required currencies, crypto or renminbi, were chosen to allow anonymity.
4. The blockade also raises questions on how the U.S. might handle a ship from a friendly nation seeking to transit the Strait of Hormuz.
Sunday evening, U.S. Central Command published a public directive on how the blockade will be enforced.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces will begin implementing a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports on April 13 at 10 a.m. ET, in accordance with the President’s proclamation.
The blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. CENTCOM forces will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.
Additional information will be provided to commercial mariners through a formal notice prior to the start of the blockade. All mariners are advised to monitor Notice to Mariners broadcasts and contact U.S. naval forces on bridge-to-bridge channel 16 when operating in the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz approaches.
This provides much-needed clarity.
The Navy will enforce a blockade of Iranian ports in the “Arabian Gulf” and the Gulf of Oman starting at 10 a.m. Monday. Be aware that the U.S. Navy made the change of nomenclature, much as President Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico, in 2010; however, it still chaps Iranian asses when they see it.
United States, department of defense and intelligence community have not recognized the term Persian Gulf and referred to it as the Arabian Gulf since Desert Storm. Though this isn’t the first time Iranians have been upset over this back in 2010 the U.S. Navy Style Guide online… pic.twitter.com/CT98exGsnX
— Intelschizo (@Schizointel) April 12, 2026
The announcement indicates that friendly ships will be blocked from entering Iranian ports along with the rogue tankers trading in bootleg Iranian crude oil.
The message implies that some kind of escort or patrol system will be established to coordinate passage with the U.S. Navy rather than the IRGC.
There are some other parts that haven’t been defined yet. For instance, will Iranian tankers at sea be fair game for seizure?
FAQ: “Why?”
We believe that Iran has moved its floating oil storage to the Gulf of Oman so that it can better regulate exports amid turbulence. They are also positioning these barrels as far away as possible from Kharg in case something does impact tanker loadings at the island.
— TankerTrackers.com, Inc. (@TankerTrackers) April 11, 2026
Approximately 12 Iranian supertankers are filled and stationary in the Gulf of Oman awaiting dispatch. Will we leave them alone or round them up?
There is a growing consensus that Iran has not mined the Strait of Hormuz, and we’d like to keep it that way. My assumption is that we’ll actively, kinetically prevent any attempt to mine the Strait, but that is not spelled out. U.S. demining efforts continue. To the best of my knowledge, that is being done by UH-60S helicopters with mine countermeasures packages being flown from destroyers in the area. President Trump has said some Gulf nations will join the demining effort, but there is no reliable information to confirm this.
How, exactly, will we enforce the blockade if a Chinese tanker decides to bull its way through? I’m assuming this contingency, as well as how to handle Chinese warships if this situation persists long enough, and I wouldn’t expect USCENTCOM to announce them, but this is something we should be on the lookout for.
President Trump says, “Other Countries will be involved with this Blockade.” At this time, the only takers seem to be the UAE and Bahrain. The UK, Germany, and Australia have refused to help, and France seems likely to join that group.
An added bonus is that a third Carrier Strike Group has entered the Eastern Mediterranean.
🇺🇸USN TRACKING: CSG-12 Location Confirmed
Even with the deliberate delays on Eastern Med imagery, an Apr 10 pass finally dropped and definitively answers the whereabouts of the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78).🔸Caught CSG-12 during an UNREP day. CVN-78 is pulling up alongside (or… pic.twitter.com/IYUM36FbJe
— MT Anderson (@MT_Anderson) April 11, 2026
Anyway, go time is 10 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Monday, and we’ll get answers to our questions then.
For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.