New Delhi, Washington, Apr 13,2026: The US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces will begin implementing a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports at 10 a.m. Eastern Time (8:30 PM Indian Standard Time) ‘in accordance with the President’s (Trump’s) proclamation,’ the CENTCOM announced on Monday.
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.
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Baqer Qalibaf, while dismissing the blockade threat, asked American people to ‘enjoy’ today’s gas prices, adding that they will soon be ‘nostalgic’ about 4 USD–5 USD per gallon fuel.
Iran’s Navy commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani also ridiculed Trump’s threats of a naval blockade as ‘very ridiculous and laughable.’
CENTCOM said in a statement that its forces will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.
Additional information will be provided to commercial mariners through a formal notice prior to the start of the blockade.
It advised all mariners to monitor Notice to Mariners broadcasts and contact US naval forces on bridge-to-bridge channel 16 when operating in the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz approaches.
Trump had announced US Navy will start blockading, ‘effective immediately,’ Iranian ports after talks with Iran in Islamabad on Saturday failed.
CENTCOM forces also began setting conditions for clearing mines in the Strait of Hormuz, as two US Navy guided-missile destroyers conducted operations.
CENTCOM said the two guided-missile destroyers–USS Frank E. Peterson and USS Michael Murphy–transited the Strait of Hormuz and operated in the Arabian Gulf as part of a broader mission to ensure the Strait is fully clear of sea mines laid by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
‘Today, we began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon to encourage the free flow of commerce,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM, on Sunday.
Additional US forces, including underwater drones, will join the clearance effort in the coming days, CENTCOM said.
In direct response to Trump’s order of blockade, Iran’s Parliament Speaker warned Americans to “enjoy” today’s gas prices, adding that they will soon be “nostalgic” for 4 USD–5 USD per gallon fuel.
The average price of regular gasoline in the US is currently 4.125 USD per gallon, according to the American Automobile Association. The figure is already up more than 40 per cent from pre-war levels of 2.98 USD. The blockade will further ramp up the prices.
Iran’s Navy commander, in a statement, dismissed Trump’s threats of a naval blockade as ‘very ridiculous and laughable,’ saying the Iranian military is closely monitoring every move of the US fleet in the region.
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy had announced last week that the Strait “will never return to its former state, especially for the US and Israel”.
The Iranian Parliament has advanced draft legislation to impose transit fees in the national currency and explicitly ban US and Israeli vessels.
Reacting to Iran’s decision of imposing ‘Transit Fee’. Trump said on X on Sunday that Iran will not be allowed to profit off this ‘Illegal Act of EXTORTION.’
He warned that the US is ‘fully locked and loaded,’ and ‘our military will finish up the little that is left of Iran’ at an appropriate moment.
He said Iran had promised to open the Strait of Hormuz, and they knowingly failed to do so. This caused anxiety, dislocation, and pain to many people and countries throughout the World.
He warned Iran against ‘extorting’ toll from ships passing through Hormuz and called it ‘World Extortion.’
Asserting that leaders of countries, especially the US, will never be extorted, he said he had instructed US Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran.
‘No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas. We will also begin destroying the mines the Iranians laid in the Straits. Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL,’ Trump warned.
