Trump vows to block all ships in Strait of Hormuz, raising stakes in high-risk US-Iran maritime showdown
An enraged Trump has pledged to halt "any and all ships attempting to enter or exit the Strait"—a route through which approximately 20 percent of the world’s oil is transported.
If successful, a blockade could spell disaster for the Islamic Republic, cutting off its oil and gas exports and therefore crippling its economy.
It has now set the stage for an extraordinary showdown as Washington and Tehran wrestle for control over the chokepoint – with a fragile ceasefire hanging by a thread.
Former CENTCOM commander marine general Frank McKenzie told The Sun: “We have been working for years on plans to take control of the straits area and operate further inland if necessary.”
Small aluminium frigates are carrying highly sensitive AQS-20 minehunting sonarsCredit: US Secretary of The Navy
Furious Trump has vowed to stop “any and all ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait” – through which some 20 per cent of the world’s oil passes.
If successful, a blockade could spell disaster for the Islamic Republic, cutting off its oil and gas exports and therefore crippling its economy.
It has now set the stage for an extraordinary showdown as Washington and Tehran wrestle for control over the chokepoint – with a fragile ceasefire hanging by a thread.
Former CENTCOM commander marine general Frank McKenzie told The Sun: “We have been working for years on plans to take control of the straits area and operate further inland if necessary.”
US Central Command confirmed the blockade will impact maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports as it cuts off the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea after talks over the weekend failed to reach a breakthrough.
Now three lightly armed minesweepers equipped with special sensors are clearing passages through the contested waterway for oil tankers to resume traffic.
Flanked by at least two destroyers, the sweepers will be able to detect mines planted by Iran using small boats in the opening days of the war.
Small aluminium frigates known as Littoral Combat Ships designed to operate close to shore in the Gulf’s shallow waters are carrying highly sensitive AQS-20 sonar to detect mines.
Mines are triggered acoustically by unmanned Influence Sweep Systems -surface vehicles that use simulated magnetic, electric, and acoustic signatures to find sea mines.
Underwater drones measuring 38ft long and MH-60 Seahawk helicopters off Littoral Ships USS Canberra, USS Santa Barbara and USS Tulsa will be scouring waters miles away from the motherships.
Mines that could be floating, tethered by chains or hidden on the sea floor will be located and destroyed.
It comes as the IRGC yesterday issued chilling threats against US ships moving into the narrow 20-mile straits, warning “all vessels in the Oman Sea” to “not to get any closer than ten miles because we will open fire”.
Most of Iran’s navy has been destroyed by the past month’s incessant air strikes that have sunk all its frigates, drone carriers and submarines.
But the bloodthirsty Revolutionary Guard still has hundreds of fast attack Taregh speedboats mounted with short-range missiles and crude rocket propelled grenades.
Concealed along nearby islands and coastal cliffs, they are primed to pounce on the minesweepers.
Hundreds of fighter jets off the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and nearby US bases are flying 24-hour sorties over the waterway to safeguard the minesweeping efforts, however.
But if air cover and gunfire from destroyers prove insufficient to neutralise IRGC threats, Trump has an ace up his sleeve.
Up to 5,000 Navy Seals and Marines already stationed in the region could be deployed – dropping at night by helicopters from Amphibious attack ships to clear islands and coastal missile emplacements.
Sweeping the mines also allows larger US warships to move up into the Persian Gulf to blockade Iranian ports, lay siege and possibly take the key oil terminal on Kharg Island.
Trump has hinted he is ready to do it following the breakdown of weekend peace talks in Pakistan.
The Sun previously told how plans had been drawn up for Trump’s 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit to storm vital island fortresses to unlock the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump has had his crosshairs firmly set on Iran‘s main oil terminal on Kharg Island – where 95 per cent of its oil is shipped.
He suggested earlier this month he could be on the precipice of unleashing his crack squad of marines, saying: “I am considering taking Kharg.”
Other small islands with outsized importance under Tehran’s control also have a red ring around them – as seizing them would break the regime’s stranglehold over the Strait of Hormuz.
Reopening the waterway has become Trump’s top priority since the IRGC started laying mines and firing missiles at oil tankers to block the 19-mile Strait.
But the president had warned he was prepared to walk away from Iran and leave other nations to police the waterway.
He threatened the US “won’t be there to help you anymore” – and said he could end the war with or without a deal.
It could, however, be that Trump was buying time to prepare for a ground invasion after more than a month of diminishing Iran’s capabilities to fight off any daring raid.
Navy Seals, assault submarines and stealth helicopters will be preparing for the sign off on the “dangerous” mission – and cut off the murderous regime’s economic jugular once and for all.
Kharg Island – where 90 per cent of Iran’s oil is stored and shipped from – could become the battleground where Trump checkmates Iran’s crumbling regime.
Oil exports make up around 40 per cent of Iran’s budget, and seizing this tiny five-mile island from the clutches of barbaric clerics would throttle its ability to fund weapons wreaking havoc across the Middle East.
And Iran would no longer be able to bankroll bloodthirsty proxy groups, including Hezbollah or the Houthis – or its nuclear scheme.
For now, Trump’s blockade is in action, with US Central Command warning any Iranian-linked vessel daring to break into the waterway would be subject to “interception or capture”.
It added that the blockade will apply to all regardless of flag, although it will only be enforced “partially” on ships going to and from Iranian ports.
The regime previously branded Trump’s threat as “ridiculous and laughable” – with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claiming the strait would remain within its grasp.
But today Tehran appeared to change its tune, with a military spokesperson saying the restrictions amounted to “piracy” and that no port in the Persian Gulf would be safe while Iran is under siege.
Sir Keir Starmer today defiantly ruled out British involvement in the closure, adding the UK will not get “dragged in” to the Iran war.
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