The standoff between the United States and Iran intensified Monday after President Donald Trump said the American military has blockaded all of Iran’s ports, further complicating a fragile ceasefire that was already under strain following talks in Pakistan. Trump’s comments came the day after the ceasefire negotiations ended without agreement, and with the two-week ceasefire declared last week set to run until April 22.
Trump said the U.S. still wants negotiations, telling reporters outside the Oval Office that the “other side” had reached out and that “we’ve been called … and they want to work a deal.” He framed the blockade as part of a broader effort to pressure Iran over the Strait of Hormuz and the terms of a wider resolution to a war that began Feb. 28 and has caused heavy damage in Iran and reverberations across the region and the global economy.
Iran’s response raised the risk that the ceasefire could collapse. The AP reported that Iran threatened action against other ports in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, an escalation that suggested the two sides may not reach a settlement before the ceasefire ends. With the expiration date now close, the diplomatic margin for error has narrowed.
The U.S.-Iran conflict’s political and military context also remained central to the negotiating dispute. When the U.S. and Israel launched the war, they pledged to eliminate Iran’s nuclear and missile programs and to curb Iran’s support for armed proxy groups across the region, including Hezbollah, according to the AP report. Ahead of the weekend talks, the U.S. presented what was described as a 15-point plan believed to include those demands, while Iran put forward a separate 10-point proposal.
The proposals’ treatment of the Strait of Hormuz became a key point of contention. The AP reported that U.S. proposals had included reopening the strait, which carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil when open, and that Iran’s previous closure of the waterway sent oil prices higher and destabilized global markets. Iran’s counterproposal, as outlined in the AP report, called for Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz, an end to the war, halting attacks on its proxies, and compensation for damage tied to the war.
Despite the ceasefire talks, both sides appeared to hold their core positions on the most disputed issues after a 21-hour face-to-face session ended early Sunday, according to the AP report. U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who led the U.S. delegation, said Iran had not provided assurances that it would not pursue a nuclear weapon. Iran has long denied seeking nuclear weapons but has said it supports a civilian program that includes uranium enrichment, which experts cited by the AP said can be a short step from weapons-grade material.
Iranian negotiators and officials also addressed the talks while leaving ambiguity around the core disputes. In the AP account, Iran’s chief negotiator, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, did not mention the disputed issues in social media posts after the talks, instead writing that the U.S. must decide “whether it can gain our trust or not.” Other Iranian officials emphasized that the Strait of Hormuz remained central to the deadlock.
Ebrahim Rezaei, a spokesperson for the Iranian parliament’s National Security Commission, dismissed the U.S. talk of a blockade as “more bluffing than reality,” and warned in the AP report that Tehran was prepared to respond if the situation escalated. Pakistan also positioned itself as a facilitator after the talks, with Pakistan’s foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, saying his country would try to facilitate a new round of dialogue between Iran and the U.S. in the coming days, while the AP reported there was no immediate reaction from either side.
Trump said Monday that he would not allow Iran to “blackmail” the world and added in a social media post that any Iranian ships that try to attack the blockade will be “ELIMINATED.” Esmaeil Baqaei, a spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry, dismissed the blockade in a separate response, calling it a “revenge of choice” that would further hurt the global economy. Baqaei also wrote a rhetorical question on the same theme: “Is it ever worthwhile to cut off one’s nose to spite one’s face?!”