WASHINGTON : The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Saturday that a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz will take effect at 10 a.m. Monday, US Eastern Time, closing one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints for oil and commercial shipping.
In a brief statement, CENTCOM confirmed that all maritime traffic through the strait will be halted starting at that hour. No further operational details were released, but officials indicated that allied nations are expected to join the effort.
The announcement follows a fiery declaration by President Donald Trump, who said the US Navy would move immediately to blockade the strait and warned of overwhelming force against any resistance.
“Anyone who fires on our ships will be destroyed,” Trump told reporters. He added that other countries would also participate in the blockade, though he did not name specific allies.
The president directed the Navy to specifically target vessels that have been paying tolls to Iran, a practice he characterized as illegal extortion.
“I have told our Navy to find ships that pay tolls to Iran,” Trump said. “Anyone who pays tolls to Iran will not find safe passage.”
Trump expressed frustration that the United States had previously assumed ships could transit the strait freely, but he claimed Iran had prevented that from happening.
“We thought that ships would be allowed to come and go freely in the Strait of Hormuz, but Iran did not allow this to happen,” he said.
The Strait of Hormuz, located between Oman and Iran, is a narrow passage through which approximately 20% of the world’s oil passes daily. A blockade risks triggering a major international crisis, spiking energy prices, and drawing military responses from regional powers and major importers.
Iran has not yet officially responded to the US announcement, but Tehran has repeatedly warned in the past that any attempt to block its maritime rights would be met with immediate retaliation.
CENTCOM’s order gives commercial shippers and allied navies less than 48 hours to clear the area before the strait is closed. The Pentagon has not detailed how it will enforce the blockade or handle vessels that attempt to transit after the deadline.
