Trump Eyes Limited Iran Strikes, Hormuz Blockade After Peace Talks Collapse

Trump Eyes Limited Iran Strikes, Hormuz Blockade After Peace Talks Collapse

TYLER DURDEN

Summary

• Trump weighs limited strikes on Iran 

• CENTCOM confirms blockade to begin at 1000ET Monday morning and will only impact Iran-related vessels

• President Trump begins blockading the Strait of Hormuz, warns US military will "finish up the little that is left of Iran"

• Door for diplomacy remains open, WSJ reports: Regional countries are racing to bring the U.S. and Iran back to the negotiating table after marathon peace talks in Islamabad ended without a deal 

• The US delegation in Islamabad delivered the following six "red lines" to Iran: 1) End all uranium enrichment; 2) Dismantle all major nuclear enrichment facilities; 3) Retrieve highly enriched uranium; 4) Accept a broader peace, security and de-escalation framework that includes regional allies; 5) End funding for terrorist proxies Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis; 6) Fully open the Strait of Hormuz, charging no tolls for passage

• 2 Supertankers U-turn after peace deal talks fail

• UAE Oil Chief warns Iran blocking Hormuz is "a direct threat to the energy, food and health security of every nation"

The odds of a peace deal by the end of the ceasefire period have improved modestly today but remain down significantly from pre-talks...

Trump Weighs Limited Strikes On Iran 

Brent crude futures are up 7.5% to around $102 per barrel, while S&P 500 futures traded down about 1% after President Trump ordered the U.S. military to impose a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, beginning Monday morning.

A Wall Street Journal report indicates that President Trump is weighing limited strikes on high-value Iranian assets to break the stalemate in peace talks. 

The report continued:

That is among the options that Trump was considering Sunday, hours after negotiations collapsed in Pakistan, the officials said.

Trump could also resume a full-fledged bombing campaign, though officials said that was less likely given the prospect of further destabilizing the region and the president's aversion to prolonged military conflicts.

He could also seek a more temporary blockade while he pressures allies to take responsibility for a prolonged military escort mission through the strait in the future.

U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks in Pakistan ended late Saturday without an agreement. These periods generally allow both sides to restock weapons and prepare for the next phase of fighting.

OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) accounts on X are reporting a steady stream of U.S. Air Force cargo jets heading to the Middle East late Sunday.

The amount of US airforce transports heading to the Middle East tonight is insane.

Something is definitely up... pic.twitter.com/mhFYl6UA6T

— WarMonitor🇺🇦🇬🇧 (@WarMonitor3) April 12, 2026

"My advice to the White House folks I've spoken to is secure the strait at any cost and immediately as a matter of economic and national and global security," said Steve Moore, a former economic adviser to Trump, who was quoted by the WSJ.

Moore noted, "We have the power to protect the flow of international trade and must use it. Or the whole world economy could tumble into a global recession."

Fred Fleitz, a senior National Security Council official during Trump's first term, told the outlet that Iran's large delegation to Islamabad showed that a diplomatic solution is possible.

"I think Trump's right, Iran is out of cards," Fleitz said. "This conflict has only been going on for a few weeks. It's too early to know how this will come out, but I think it looks promising."

CENTCOM Says Blockade Will Begin Monday Morning at 1000ET

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces will begin implementing a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports on April 13 at 10 a.m. ET, according to a statement on X.

CENTCOM provided some further clarification regarding who will be blocked, in accordance with President Trump's earlier proclamation.

Specifically, they are only (and impartially) blocking any vessel leaving or entering an Iranian port...

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. 

But, vessels from non-Iranian ports are free to transit the Strait

CENTCOM forces will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.

Now the fun begins.

Iran Says It Won't Allow Blockade Of Hormuz Strait, But Room For Diplomacy Remains

As the US failed to open the Strait of Hormuz, it is also “doomed to fail in a naval blockade,” Iran’s military adviser to the supreme leader, Mohsen Rezaee, said in a post on X.

Iran’s armed forces “will not allow America to do so and have great untapped leverage to counter it,” he adds.

“Iran is not a place to be surrounded by tweets and imaginary plans.”

However, despite defiant statements from the U.S. and Iran, The Wall Street Journal reports that, according to regional officials familiar with the matter said, the door remains open for further diplomacy and a second round of talks could be held within days. Regional countries were also in consultation with the U.S. to secure an extension of the fragile two-week ceasefire period announced late Tuesday, they said. 

The Islamabad talks were the highest-level face-to-face meeting between American and Iranian leaders since 1979. The main sticking points, said the officials, were reopening the Strait of Hormuz without collecting fees, the fate of Iran’s highly enriched uranium, and Iran’s demand that about $27 billion in frozen revenues held abroad be released. Iranian officials have presented counterproposals to continue to enrich token amounts or curtail its stockpile of enriched uranium, but the two sides were unable to reach a compromise, the officials said.

Trump's decision follows his re-tweeting of this story from JustTheNews.com, suggesting that he could reprise his successful Venezuela blockade strategy to choke an already teetering Iranian economy and ratchet up diplomatic pressure on China and India by cutting them off one of their key sources of oil.

Ironically, the massive USS Gerald Ford carrier that led the Venezuelan blockade is now in the Persian Gulf after a brief hiatus for repairs and crew rest after a deadly fire. And now it joins the USS Abraham Lincoln and other major naval assets.

In short, Trump simply could out-blockade Iran’s hold over the Strait of Hormuz, experts said. 

On Sunday, the president confirmed that he is proceeding with a blockade. 

“It would be very easy for the US Navy to exert complete control over what does and does not go up and down the Strait now,” the Lexington Institute’s national security expert Rebecca Grant told Just the News.

“I've heard about 10 ships have moved in the last 24 hours. One of them was a reflagged Russian tanker, and we know that cargos have gone out to China, to India, and we've seen some inbound traffic.

“If Iran gets intransigent, then absolutely, the US Navy can set up with great overwater surveillance … and watch everything that goes in and out of that Strait and you'll have to ask the US Navy if you want to move past Kharg Island or past that narrow part by Oman,” she added.

 Iran’s semi-official media cited “excessive” US demands, while the foreign ministry said it was natural that differences wouldn’t be resolved in a single round of talks, leaving the door open for more discussions.

A month ago we wondered...

If Iran is blocking and attacking US ships, why is the US allowing sanctioned Iranian tankers to cross the strait with Chinese oil?

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 12, 2026

...and now we have an answer. 

The question is - how will the UAE oil chief deal with a US closure versus an Iranian closure?

China will certainly be pissed off as their tankers were flowing relatively freely until now.

Is the US endgame to take control of another chokepoint too...

More....

Is The Stage Being Set For Revelation 6?

Global Food Shortages Will Hit The World Like A Freight Train In 6 To 9 Months Because Virtually Nothing Will Get Through The Strait Of Hormuz Now

Michael Snyder

Where do we go from here? Peace talks with Iran have totally failed, and there appears to be no hope that the gaps between the demands that the U.S. is making and the demands that Iran is making can be bridged. There are several key issues that both sides are not willing to compromise on, and that is going to have very serious implications for the entire planet. In the aftermath of the failed peace talks, Iranian officials warned that the status quo in the Strait of Hormuz would continue. Needless to say, that was completely and totally unacceptable to the Trump administration, and in response President Trump has just announced a full naval blockade of the Strait. What this means is that virtually nothing will get through the Strait of Hormuz for an extended period of time. As a result, the spring planting season in the northern hemisphere will be a total disaster, and global food shortages will hit the world like a freight train about 6 to 9 months from now.

Negotiating teams from the United States and Iran went back and forth for many hours in Pakistan, but ultimately the Iranians were simply not willing to agree to the “final offer” that Vice-President JD Vance set forth…

Vice President JD Vance presented a “final offer” to Iran during negotiations in Islamabad Saturday, outlining six U.S. “red lines,” according to U.S. officials.

The demands included an end all uranium enrichment and to dismantle major nuclear facilities and surrender highly enriched uranium.

The fourth was to accept a broader regional peace and de-escalation framework followed by to stop funding proxy groups including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.

The sixth demand was to fully open the Strait of Hormuz without tolls.

The Iranians feel like they have more leverage than the U.S. does, and following the peace talks they warned that “there will be no change in the situation of the Strait of Hormuz”…

‘Iran is not in a hurry, and until the US agrees to a reasonable deal, there will be no change in the situation of the Strait of Hormuz,’ an unnamed Iranian official told the Fars News Agency.

The Iranians seem to believe that if they can just hold the global economy hostage for long enough, the U.S. will eventually be forced to give in.

Right now, approximately 3,200 ships are currently trapped in the Persian Gulf…

Yet even after a fragile ceasefire took hold, around 3,200 vessels, including 800 tankers and cargo ships, remained stranded west of the strait in the Persian Gulf, according to Windward, a maritime intelligence firm in London.

Iran is allowing a trickle of vessels, so long as they pay a toll and hail from nonhostile nations. Iranian authorities, in effect, are acting like a bouncer at a popular nightclub, permitting some fortunate customers to enter the strait while leaving others to idle in frustration.

“You can think of the Hormuz Strait as a form of flow control. The greatest power actually does not come from total blockade. What Iran is showing is that the real power that it conveys is that you can control who passes and who doesn’t,” said Nicholas Mulder, a sanctions expert and history professor at Cornell University.

Since the war began, it has primarily been vessels from Iran and vessels from nations that are allied with Iran that have been able to travel through the Strait.

But now President Trump is putting an end to that.

Trump just announced that the United States will conduct a full blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and will intercept any ships that pay tolls to Iran…

The Iranians have only been allowing a handful of vessels through the Strait each day, and now virtually all of those will be blocked by the U.S. Navy.

In other words, from this point forward traffic through the Strait of Hormuz will almost entirely stop.

This will cut off the flow of oil revenue to the Iranian regime, and Trump seems to believe that this will force them to make a deal.

Meanwhile, the Chinese are going to be extremely upset with us, because they normally import a tremendous amount of oil from the Middle East.

In the end, this is not going to work out well for anyone.

It is inevitable that we will see more fighting, and the Iranians are already warning that any military vessels that approach the Strait will be “dealt with strongly”…

Military vessels approaching the Strait of Hormuz would be considered a ceasefire breach and would be dealt with strongly, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy said in a statement on Sunday.

Physical oil is already selling for more than 140 dollars a barrel, and if it stays at this level the consequences are going to be absolutely devastating…

In the North Sea, the world’s most important physical crude market, traders submitted 40 bids for cargoes last week, only four of which were met by offers. Cargoes for delivery in the coming weeks changed hands at unprecedented prices above $140 a barrel. Elsewhere, refiners have been hunting increasingly further afield for supplies, leading to a series of unusual trades and surging premiums for any oil that’s ready to ship right now.

Traders said the panicky moves across the world’s key physical oil markets demonstrated the scale of the shortfall in crude that’s due to be felt as the loss of supplies from the Middle East leaves a growing gap.

As I have documented in previous articles, shortages have begun to emerge all over the globe, and people are getting really angry.

In Ireland, police are dealing with massive protests that have erupted due to the high price of fuel…

Police removed and arrested protesters on Saturday to reopen Ireland ‘s only oil refinery as a fifth day of disruptive demonstrations over the soaring price of fuel left many gas pumps dry and threatened to cripple transportation across the country.

This is just the beginning.

Just wait until you see what happens a few months down the road.

In addition to oil and natural gas, there are a lot of other critical commoditiesthat remain trapped in the Persian Gulf region…

Polyethylene and other kinds of plastics and resins are also greatly affected. More than 40 percent of the world’s polyethylene is exported from the Middle East. And these are used in all stages of production in all sorts of industries—packaging, auto parts, medical equipment, consumer containers, industrial components, electronics, and much, much more.

And there are other often-neglected but extremely important hydrocarbon products being held up, such as petroleum naphtha, which is critical for refining gasoline and producing solvents for cleaning agents and paints. Natural gas condensate is another liquid hydrocarbon used in refining and to dilute other denser hydrocarbons to make them easier to transport. There’s also liquified petroleum gas, or LPG, which is mostly composed of propane and butane. These components are also important for refining as well as residential cooking and heating in many parts of the world. Much of the world’s supply of all these products is produced in the Middle East and exported through the Strait of Hormuz.

Another often-neglected yet critical higher-order good is sulfur. About half the world’s seaborne sulfur trade moves through the Strait. It’s important for refining petroleum and minerals like copper, nickel, and zinc, which are widely used in everything from electronics to medicine.

On top of everything else, approximately one-third of all globally-traded nitrogen fertilizer normally travels through the Strait of Hormuz, and this war is already “causing shortages and price spikes”…

About a third of the world’s fertilizer supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz, and its effective closure is causing shortages and price spikes for fertilizer during the crucial spring planting season. That has led to fears of elevated food prices and lower crop yields.

Nitrogen fertilizer must be applied within a certain window of time for each crop or it will not work correctly.

The fertilizer shortage is putting the livelihood of farmers in developing countries — already troubled by rising temperatures and erratic weather systems — further at risk, and could lead to people everywhere paying more for food.

The poorest farmers in the Northern Hemisphere rely on fertilizer imports from the Gulf, and the shortage comes just as planting season begins, said Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the World Food Program.

Yields for annual crops such as wheat, barley and corn will be severely affected if the Strait of Hormuz is not opened very soon.

But yields for crops that do not have to be planted each year such as olives and grapes will not be significantly affected.

At this moment, we are still eating food that was produced in 2025.

So the consequences of the coming crop shortages will not be felt for a while.

But 6 to 9 months from now, we will be hit by much higher prices for wheat, barley and corn.

Americans continue to reel from prices that soared during the pandemic, never came back to earth, and keep ticking higher. There’s no doubt that it costs more to feed yourself and cover basics like transportation, housing, and health insurance than it did just a few years ago.

The United Nations has been telling us that the number of people in the world that are dealing with “acute hunger” was already at an all-time record high even before this war began.

When food shortages dramatically escalate 6 to 9 months from now, things will get so much worse.

Why Revelation Matters: 

Erdogan: Turkey can invade Israel

Erdogan: Turkey can invade Israel

World Israel News Staff

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the weekend escalated his rhetoric against Israel, saying Ankara would have “shown Israel its place” if Pakistan had not been mediating between Washington and Tehran, and threatening to invade Israel.

The remarks came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Erdogan of massacring Kurdish civilians, in response to Ankara backing indictments filed by Turkish prosecutors against dozens of senior Israeli officials, including Netanyahu.

Speaking at a political event on Sunday, Erdogan accused Netanyahu of being “blinded by blood and hatred.”

He added that if US-Iran diplomacy had not been underway, Turkey would have acted more forcefully against Israel, hinting at a possible invasion.

“On the day of the ceasefire, Israel killed hundreds of innocent Lebanese people. Netanyahu is blinded by blood and hatred. Had Pakistan not been mediating in the war between the US and Iran, we would have shown Israel its place,” Erdogan said.

“Just as we entered Libya and Karabakh, we can enter Israel. There is no reason not to do it. It will require strength and unity.”

A day earlier, Netanyahu slammed Erdogan after Ankara backed an indictment by Istanbul prosecutors calling for Netanyahu to be sentenced to life imprisonment plus 4,596 years.

“Israel under my leadership will continue to fight Iran’s terror regime and its proxies, unlike Erdogan, who accommodates them and massacred his own Kurdish citizens,” Netanyahu wrote on X.

This is not the first time Erdogan has hinted at a possible direct military confrontation with Israel.

In July 2024, the Turkish leader said Turkey “might enter Israel” just as it had entered Libya and supported Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh, though he did not spell out what kind of intervention he meant.

Israel responded by urging NATO to condemn Turkey and consider steps against Ankara over what Israeli officials called a dangerous threat.

Historic Israel-Lebanon talks: ‘Regional cleanup’ of Hezbollah with US backing

Historic Israel-Lebanon talks: ‘Regional cleanup’ of Hezbollah with US backing

Itamar Eichner

Amid a reduction in Israeli strikes against Hezbollah and the encirclement of Bint Jbeil — the group’s last stronghold south of the Litani River — a historic round of negotiations between Israel and Lebanon is set to begin Tuesday at the US State Department.

Israel’s approach is to conduct negotiations with Lebanon as if Hezbollah does not exist, while continuing military operations against the group as if no peace talks are underway.

Both Jerusalem and Beirut are interested in a peace agreement, including among many Shiites in Lebanon who have grown weary of Hezbollah’s dominance. Such an agreement is intended to weaken the group by clarifying that Israel has no territorial claims and seeks peace, potentially strengthening the Lebanese government’s ability to confront Hezbollah.

There is currently no ceasefire in Lebanon, but Israel has agreed to scale back strikes in line with the negotiations. The military has avoided targeting Beirut, and any strike now requires political approval to prevent mistakes. At the same time, Israeli forces continue to operate forcefully against Hezbollah, surrounding dozens of terrorists in Bint Jbeil.

Officials familiar with the details said Israel will coordinate with the United States on how to “clear” areas of Hezbollah control, removing the threat step by step.

At the talks in Washington, Israel will be represented solely by its ambassador, Yechiel Leiter, with no National Security Council officials expected to attend. Lebanon will be represented by its ambassador to the United States, Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and not by former envoys as previously reported. The US delegation will include Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and State Department official Mike Needham.

Israel is not placing high expectations on the talks and believes the Lebanese government — which was unable even to expel Iran’s ambassador after declaring him persona non grata — will not be capable of disarming Hezbollah and has little desire to do so. 

In that sense, Israel is doing the difficult work for Lebanon, while also creating a viable alternative for Beirut to pursue a peace agreement. Public support for such a deal is growing in Lebanon, with many viewing Iran and its proxy Hezbollah, rather than Israel, as the main adversary.

This marks the first time since the 1980s that Israel and Lebanon have held open political negotiations aimed at a peace agreement. The last such accord, signed in May 1983 to end the state of war, never took effect due to a veto by then-Syrian President Hafez Assad.

Earlier Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a visit to southern Lebanon that “the war continues, including within the security zone.” He added: “Our enemies — Iran and the axis of evil — came to destroy us, and now they are fighting for their survival.” Netanyahu said Israel had thwarted the threat of an invasion from Lebanon, reduced anti-tank fire and addressed high-trajectory threats, adding that “there is still more to be done — and we are doing it.”

U.S. Intelligence Shows China Taking a More Active Role in Iran War

U.S. Intelligence Shows China Taking a More Active Role in Iran War

Mark Mazzetti

American intelligence agencies have obtained information that China in recent weeks may have sent a shipment of shoulder-fired missiles to Iran for its conflict with the United States and Israel, according to U.S. officials.

The officials said that the intelligence is not definitive that the shipment has been sent, and that there is no evidence that the Chinese missiles have yet been used against American or Israeli forces during the conflict.

But even a debate in Beijing over sending missiles to Iran suggests the degree that China sees itself as having a stake in the conflict. Intelligence agencies have assessed that China is secretly taking an active stance in the war, allowing some companies to ship chemicals, fuel and components that can be used in military production to Iran for the war.

Shoulder fired missiles, known as MANPADS, are capable of shooting down low-flying aircraft.

China has long been reluctant to send finished military equipment to Iran, but some officials in the government want Beijing to allow its companies to directly supply the Iranian security forces during the conflict with the United States.

If the Chinese government did allow the shipment of missiles, it would be a significant escalation and an indication that at least some of China’s leaders are working actively to bring about an American military defeat in a war that has engulfed the Middle East.

The intelligence about possible Chinese support to Iran comes as American intelligence agencies have seen evidence that Russia has provided the Iranian military with specific satellite intelligence to help Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps target American ships, along with military and diplomatic installations throughout the Middle East.

Taken together, the military support to Iran shows how America’s powerful adversaries have seen an opportunity to raise the costs for the United States for launching the war and to potentially bog down the American military in the conflict.

Chinese support to Iran comes at a delicate moment in U.S.-China relations. President Trump is planning next month to travel to China to meet with President Xi Jinping of China, a summit that is expected to focus on a range of trade, technology and military issues. The summit was originally scheduled for March, but was delayed because of the Iran war.

American intelligence agencies have been carefully tracking what support Russia and China have provided to Iran during the war. American officials have seen Russia as more eager to help, sending food aid, nonlethal military supplies and satellite imagery to Tehran. But Moscow appears to have ruled out providing any offensive or defensive military equipment, for fear of provoking the United States.

More...