The closure of the narrow waterway, which normally carries around a fifth of global Liquified Natural Gas supplies, will have a rippling impact beyond the Middle East, Maximo Torero warned.
The blockade was set to begin at 10 a.m. Eastern Time, which is in the afternoon in Iran. Whether this marks a bold new strategy or a sign the US is grasping at straws remains to be seen.
After weekend peace talks in Islamabad between negotiators from the US and Iran ended without a deal, US President Donald Trump ordered a full blockade on the Strait of Hormuz.
European countries raise concerns over naval blockade • Trump: ‘I don’t care’ if Iran comes back to negotiations • Erdogan threatens military action against Israel
Trump signaled indifference to renewed Iran talks, blaming nuclear ambitions for their collapse and announcing a US naval blockade.
According to US officials cited by The Wall Street Journal, the US President is considering a limited operation against Iran following the failed round of negotiations in Islamabad.
"The blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas," CENTCOM said in a statement.
Ignoring politics and the constantly changing and confusing public messaging by US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this war was not really about the nuclear issue.
In an interview on 103FM, Danny Citrinowicz noted that both the US and Iran are convinced they hold the upper hand, significantly lowering the chances of any compromise.
An American official told The Jerusalem Post at the conclusion of talks in Pakistan that the gaps between the United States and Iran remained wide. “They were really not close to an agreement.”
Marc Sievers, a former US ambassador to Oman, suggested that neither the talks nor the ceasefire was a sign that the US was pulling back from the war.
