As the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports entered its third day, the Navy brought Iran’s maritime trade to a standstill, further consolidating maritime superiority in the Strait of Hormuz.
“In less than 36 hours since the blockade was implemented, U.S. forces have completely halted economic trade going into and out of Iran by sea,” Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, said in a statement released late Tuesday.
Cutting off Iran’s maritime access effectively puts the regime under a trade embargo. “An estimated 90% of Iran’s economy is fueled by international trade by sea,” Adm. Cooper continued. “In less than 36 hours since the blockade was implemented, U.S. forces have completely halted economic trade going into and out of Iran by sea.”
President Trump, on Truth Social, indicated that Chinese oil tankers would be exempt from the blockade, provided Beijing does not supply military aid to Iran.
India, under pressure from the Trump administration to wean off cheap Russian oil, may feel the impact. “Earlier this month, India resumed purchases of Iranian oil and gas after a seven-year hiatus, having secured safe passage for its ships through the strait from Tehran, under a temporary U.S. waiver,” CNBC News reported.
President Trump ordered a blockade after the Iranian negotiators refused to accept his terms over the weekend talks in Islamabad, Pakistan. Tehran was planning to extort money from countries trying to get their ships and tankers through the waterway. Around 20% of the world’s oil supplies passed through the Hormuz Strait before the war. On Friday, the BBC reported that Iran had proposed to “levy a fee in return for safe passage” of vessels passing through the international waterway.
Initially dismissing President Trump’s blockade as a bluff, the Iranian regime appears to be feeling the heat. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened to close the Bab al-Mandeb, a Red Sea chokepoint off the Houthi-controlled coast of Yemen.
Israel’s Ynetnews reported:
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard announced Wednesday that Tehran would not allow the import or export of goods through the Persian Gulf, the nearby Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea unless the United States lifts the blockade it imposed earlier this week around the Strait of Hormuz.Ali Abdollahi, commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya emergency headquarters, said the measures would be “firm and decisive” steps to protect Iran’s national interests and sovereignty.Iran does not border the Red Sea, and the threat to disrupt shipping there appeared to signal that Tehran could seek to reactivate Yemen’s Houthi rebels, its regional allies, to attack maritime traffic.
In late March, Iran’s Houthi proxy terrorist group entered the war with great jihadist fanfare by firing a few ballistic missiles at Israel. However, their initial enthusiasm to fight on behalf of Iran appears to have fizzled out.
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