Iran Military Calls US Naval Blockade ‘Illegal’

Tel Aviv: The US military said it would begin a blockade of all Iranian ports on Monday (7:30 pm India time), after talks between the warring sides in Pakistan collapsed with President Donald Trump blaming the Islamic Republic’s refusal to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

Trump had announced on social media he would blockade the strategic Strait of Hormuz trading route that he has been demanding Tehran fully reopen, after his vice president, JD Vance left negotiations with an Iranian delegation in Islamabad on Sunday. The stall in talks dashed global hopes of a deal to permanently end the war that has killed thousands and thrown the global economy into turmoil since it began in late February.

Iran’s military said a US naval blockade set to begin on Monday would be illegal and amount to piracy, warning that no Gulf ports would be safe if its own were threatened.

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf took a dig at the US over rising gas prices in America while sharing an image of current petrol prices near the White House, warning Americans that they ‘will miss them’ soon. “Enjoy the current pump figures,” Ghalibaf wrote in a post on social media platform X. “With the so-called ‘blockade’, soon you’ll be nostalgic for $4-$5 gas.” He also shared an equation “ΔO_BSOH>0 ⇒ f(f(O))>f(O)”.

US President Donald Trump shared an AI-generated image on Monday morning (India time) portraying himself as Jesus Christ shortly after launching an attack on Pope Leo XIV, a day after the first American Pope denounced the “delusion of omnipotence” that is “fueling” the US-Israel war in Iran and demanded that political leaders stop and negotiate peace. The image, posted on his social media platform Truth Social, depicts Trump in a Christ-like pose, complete with glowing light and symbolic imagery commonly associated with Christian art.

Trump said he does not care if Iran comes back to negotiations with the United States after weekend talks in Pakistan failed to produce a deal. “I don’t care if they come back or not. If they don’t come back, I’m fine,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, upon his return from Florida.

The US military said it will blockade all Iranian Gulf ports on Monday at 1400 GMT (7:30 pm IST), effectively seizing control of maritime traffic in the critical Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway through which a fifth of the global oil supply passes.

“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,” US Central Command said in a post on X, adding the United States would “not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports”.

The US oil benchmark rebounded above $100 a barrel on Monday after peace talks failed and Trump ordered the blockade of Iranian ports.