The US began its naval blockade preventing ships from leaving or entering Iranian ports via the Strait of Hormuz Monday after President Trump vowed to end Tehran’s “extortion” of other nations transiting the critical oil chokepoint.
The blockade will be enforced “impartially,” according to Tampa, Fla.-based US Central Command, which noted that vessels going to or from non-Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf would not be stopped.
Fourteen ships transited the strait on Sunday — while even fewer have exited or entered each day since the US and Iran agreed to a two-week cease-fire, according to the trade data and analytics platform Kpler.
Trump announced the blockade on Sunday, saying in a Truth Social post: “THIS IS WORLD EXTORTION, and Leaders of Countries, especially the United States of America, will never be extorted.”
“No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas,” the president added. Iranians have sought to charge up to $2 million per oil tanker to allow passage.
Crude oil prices jumped back above $100 per barrel after the collapse of US-Iran peace talks in Pakistan over the weekend.
US stocks also dropped immediately after markets opened, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 0.7% and the S&P 500 dipping 0.3%.
