US says Trump's blockade is working: 31 vessels changed course, Tehran protests

Since beginning its blockade of Iranian ports, the United States has forced 31 vessels, mostly oil tankers, to change course and return to port. The US Central Command (CENTCOM), the regional command of the US armed forces in the Middle East, said today in a post on X. Most of the vessels followed the instructions, according to the statement.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian meanwhile called the US blockade one of the main obstacles to sincere talks with the United States. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi similarly said that aggression by the US and Israel was the source of instability in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf more broadly. Iran had taken steps in its own defence and to protect its interests in accordance with international law, he said. He added that “the aggressors are responsible” for the consequences of these steps.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, by contrast, said US President Donald Trump was satisfied with the US blockade and considered it successful and effective.

Israel and the US launched air strikes on Iran on 28 February. In retaliation, Iran has, among other things, been blocking the Strait of Hormuz since March. Around a fifth of the world’s oil supplies and roughly a third of its liquefied natural gas normally pass through the strait.

Iranian and US representatives agreed to a ceasefire on 8 April and held peace talks the following weekend, but the talks yielded no results. Trump consequently announced a blockade of Iranian ports. Tehran opened the strait last Friday, but closed it again less than a day later, citing the blockade, which it calls a violation of the ceasefire.