In a public announcement made at 10 a.m. Eastern Time on April 13, former U.S. President and current U.S. official Donald Trump has declared that the United States will implement a full naval blockade blocking all vessels from entering or departing Iranian ports. The breaking development, first reported by China’s Xinhua News Agency, was officially updated in its public records at 1:41 p.m. UTC+8 on April 13, 2026. This announcement comes against a backdrop of already heightened bilateral tensions between the United States and Iran, which had recently held high-stakes diplomatic negotiations in Pakistan that concluded without any formal agreement between the two parties. The planned blockade represents a major escalation of U.S. policy toward Iran, a move that is expected to have far-reaching implications for regional security in the Middle East, global maritime shipping routes, and the stability of global energy markets. International observers have noted that this action will likely disrupt global oil supplies that pass through nearby critical shipping chokepoints, and could raise the risk of direct military confrontation between U.S. naval forces and Iranian maritime assets in the Persian Gulf. Prior to this announcement, diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran had been focused on de-escalation, but the failed Pakistan talks had already left the future of bilateral engagement uncertain. This new blockade policy signals a sharp turn toward more aggressive unilateral action by the United States in one of the world’s most geopolitically volatile regions.
Trump says US to blockade ship entering or exiting Iran’s ports on April 13 at 10 am ET
