U.S. Following the failure of peace talks between the United States and Iran in Pakistan, President Donald Trump announced the establishment of a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. officials blamed Iran’s refusal to commit to abandoning a path to a nuclear weapon, while Iranian officials blamed the U.S. for the breakdown of the talks without specifying the sticking points.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated, “The meeting went well, the majority of points were agreed upon, but the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not.” “Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz,” he added.
Later, the blockade would start at 10 a.m., according to the American military. Monday, Eastern Time “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,” U.S. Central Command announced in a statement Sunday.
Trump called Iran’s tolls on ships passing through territorial waters in the Strait of Hormuz illegal and “world extortion.”
“We will also begin to remove the mines that the Iranians erected in the Straits. He stated, “Any Iranian firing at us or peaceful vessels will be BLOWN TO HELL.” In the meantime, neither side offered any indications regarding what will take place after the 14-day ceasefire on April 22. All parties were urged to keep it by Pakistani mediators. Both said their positions were clear and put the onus on the other side, underscoring how little the gap had narrowed throughout the talks.
After the 21-hour talks, Vice President JD Vance stated, “We need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon.” Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who led Iran in the negotiations, said it was time for the United States “to decide whether it can gain our trust or not.”
In a series of posts on social media, he didn’t mention the main disagreements, but Iranian officials said earlier that the talks fell apart over two or three key issues and blamed what they called U.S. overreach. Iran has long denied seeking nuclear weapons but has insisted on its right to a civilian nuclear program. Even though it does not have weapons-grade enriched uranium, experts say it is just a technical step away from having it. Since the United States and Israel started the war on Feb. 28, it has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, 2,020 people in Lebanon, 23 people in Israel, more than a dozen people in Gulf Arab states, and caused infrastructure damage that will last a long time in half a dozen Middle Eastern countries. Energy prices have skyrocketed as a result of Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz, which has largely cut off the Persian Gulf and its oil and gas exports from the global economy. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar stated that his country will attempt to facilitate a new dialogue between Iran and the United States in the upcoming days. Dar stated, “It is absolutely necessary that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to cease fire.” The deadlock — and Vance’s take-it-or-leave-it proposal that Iran end its nuclear program — mirrored February’s nuclear talks in Switzerland. Though Trump has said the subsequent war was meant to compel Iran’s leaders to abandon nuclear ambitions, each side’s positions appeared unchanged in negotiations following six weeks of fighting.
According to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency, Iran indicated that it was open to continuing the dialogue, but there was no word on whether they would resume. We’ve never wanted war. But if they try to win what they failed to win on the battlefield through talks, that’s absolutely unacceptable,” 60-year-old Mohammad Bagher Karami said in downtown Tehran.
About The Author
