President Trump Reinstates Blockade of Iranian Ports
“CENTCOM forces will enforce the blockade against vessels transiting to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas.”
President Donald Trump said on Monday that the U.S. will take control of the Strait of Hormuz and reinstate its naval blockade against Iran.
“The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “We are reinstating THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE.”
The U.S. could charge foreign ships for safe passage, the president suggested. The announcement comes as Iran ramped up attacks and tried to take over the waterway days following the burial of Ayatullah Khamenei.
“All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait. The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as ‘THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,’ but as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World,” he added.
"We are reinstating the THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE, so named because it is only stopping Iran’s ships or customers from entering or leaving… The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as “THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,”" – President Donald J. Trump 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/9iKOWCPq06
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 13, 2026
Ahead of the announcement, the President floated the idea of imposing a transit fee on shipping in a phone interview with “Fox & Friends,” Reuters reported:
“We’re going to keep the strait, and we’ll probably run it. We’ll become the guardian of the strait. Maybe we’ll call it the guardian angel of the strait. And we should be reimbursed for that,” he told the “Fox & Friends” program.
Control of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil supplies, has become one of the main battlegrounds of the conflict. Iran’s effective blockade of the strait has pushed up energy prices and increased concerns about inflation globally.
“We’re going to be reimbursed, because the other nations are very wealthy. They’re on our side, and we can’t be expected to do that for nothing,” he said. (…)
“We had a deal. It was a done deal, and then they broke it. They always break it. We’ve had 10 deals with these people, and so we’re just going to hit them very hard,” Trump said.
Following President Trump’s announcement, Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that it “will enforce the blockade against vessels transiting to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas.”
The U.S. was facilitating the passage of cargo ships and oil tankers through the strait. “The U.S. military continues to support traffic flow through regional waters for all vessels not violating the blockade,” CENTCOM assured.
This is the second U.S. blockade of Iranian ports since the war began. The first, ordered President Trump in mid-April, lasted over nine weeks.
The U.S. armed forces continued retaliatory strikes against Iran, destroying its naval, drone, and missile capabilities that posed a threat to the waterway.
Yesterday, using multiple one-way attack surface drones, CENTCOM forces successfully struck a submarine and ship maintenance facility in Iran. Three Corsair unmanned surface vessels hit the port at Bandar Abbas Naval Base, marking the first time American forces have employed sea… pic.twitter.com/bOM2kmgRxz
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 13, 2026
The U.S. was going to step up strikes against the regime, President Trump indicted. “We’re going to hit them very hard tonight and we’re going to hit them hard tomorrow — and there’s not a damn thing they can do about it,” he said.
.@POTUS: "We're going to hit them very hard tonight and we're going to hit them hard tomorrow — and there's not a damn thing they can do about it. They have nothing. They have nothing going other than they have big mouths… I got to know them, and they're stone cold crazy." https://t.co/vKSOZN3EaI pic.twitter.com/UH8lBL5An3
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 13, 2026
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
Around and around we go and where we stop no one knows. Let’s see, currently at blockade. Ok. Next stop will obviously be another cease fire.
You said it ; it’s like every day is ground hog day
No, unless you’re referring to your own childishly ignorant comments. Now go to your room and let the adults deal with Iran and Hormuz.
No need to be rude. They are merely pointing out the obvious that we are in vicious cycle of on and off again cease fires, blockades and bombings. The way I see it we have really only 3 options: 1) give up completely and let Iran “win,”, 2) bomb Iran relentlessly into submission , 3) continue to blockade the strait slowly choking off all money to Iran until their people riot again in full force etc. etc. while also occasioanlly bombing. Obviously choice 1 isn’t going to happen because Trump isn’t Obama or Biden. I’m guessing no choice 2 or we would have already done it. So we are stuck in choice 3 which will be slow and costly but if the course is stayed, then likely effective.
The only reason Trump stops for or proposes cease-fires, is so the Dems can’t take the enemy’s side and screech about him being a warmonger. I think he’s proven his point on this score, so I expect this round of bombing to last longer and take out many more targets.
Unfortunately, there are people like @Concise that just have to be rude, condescending little pricks. Especially if one criticizes Trump and his actions. Been there done that been attacked and downvoted by the Trump bootlickers just for stating the obvious about Trump.
Wow, so much obnoxious projection from so many _holes almost makes me feel like I made a mistake and drifted into bluesky.
Yeah, rude. How about you cast sone aspersions on the clowns mindlessly repeating the same stupid misinformed criticism?
Why “misinformed criticism” are you talking about, exactly? A simple list with links will do. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
eot
I’m shocked, SHOCKED that the Islamic Regime didn’t keep its promises.
/sarc just in case
The old Romans figured it out with the Carthaginians.
Excellent recall of your ancient history courses! History has a way of repeating itself. May I add that the Punic Wars, a series of three wars from 264 to 146 BCE, altered the territories of Sicily and the western Mediterranean, with Rome gaining control of Sicily after the First Punic War and ultimately establishing dominance over the entire western Mediterranean following the destruction of Carthage in the Third Punic War. This expansion marked Rome’s emergence as a major power in the region, facilitating territorial acquisitions and trade.
The key battles during the Punic Wars include the Battle of Agrigentum (262 BC) in the First Punic War, the Battle of Cannae (216 BC) and the Battle of Zama (202 BC) in the Second Punic War, and the Siege of Carthage (149-146 BC) in the Third Punic War. These battles were pivotal in determining the outcome of the conflicts between Rome and Carthage.
Perhaps it’s time to remind these 7th century savages that there is at least one Ohio-class submarine within striking distance of Tehran.
Realizing that there is no satisfactory solution that agreeable to these subhuman scum perhaps it’s time we fix their wagon permanently.
Forty-six years is forty-five years, three hundred and sixty-four days too long.
Hope you’re enjoying eternal damnation, Jimmy. You deserve it.
Why use a cannon when the job just needs a few fly swatters?
Overkill has its advantages. Pounding the remaining dust into smaller dust. The Russians supposedly asked the US if it could use nukes in Afghanistan. We said no, but on second thought….. I was in Australia at the time of the embassy takeover. The press asked the Soviet ambassador what he would have done…. 24 hour notice and if no compliance, turn Tehran into a glass menagerie. Remember what happened when a KGB agent was murdered in Beirut?
It was a gross error not to take decisive action when the Shah fell. But Trump wasn’t president then.
It was a gross error to allow the Shah to fall. Likewise Somoza.
The Shah was done in any case. He was severely ill.
I remember barricades and travel restrictions all over Lackland AFB when they brought the Shah in for medical treatment at Brooks Army Medical Center.
He may have been done as a person, but his rule was not done. With proper US support he could have died in office and his son would have succeeded him and continued the same policies. Carter pressured him to let Khomeini return, which worked just like Lenin’s return to Russia in his sealed train.
Carter was a disgrace in so many ways. His people coordinated with Khomeini in Paris and he and his effing restraint went along with the lie that it was independent students unaligned with the government that took the hostages. May he burn in hell.
Nothing says, “We won’t ask again” than sending the fundie leader a dead relative’s berries, with the implication it will happen again until the Soviet diplomats are released.
Here’s the thing:
When I stand back and above the details, I very much feel that it was necessary to do something about Iran. I also feel that Trump has been the only president in a position to do so and with enough of a big picture view to recognize that the short term cost is worth it. The world will ultimately be a better place in the end.
I do believe that he has fallen into the trap that awaits many Westerners dealing with the Middle East: assuming that your enemy is intelligent and motivated by the same things you are. They ain’t.
The question is how to proceed from here, I personally like the toll idea at least as rhetoric. It makes the point that the EU and the Arab countries are just sitting back and “letting Sam do the all work.”
Why should the U.S. do this all for free? Perhaps in the 1950’s and 1960’s it was to the U.S.’ benefit to fight communism for everyone, but that threat is over so pay up kids unless you want to put YOUR boots on the ground.
There’s historical precedent by the way: ever heard of tolls on the Panama Canal?
Finally: As unpleasant as it is, I can’t imagine taking our toys and going home at least until the obvious happens: a multinational force (no U.N. “peacesleepers”) takes responsibility for the Strait.
I dont disagree, but I also feel that DJT isn’t blindly and impulsively reacting either. There seems to be formulated measured response in these various actions. Maybe not to our liking, but potentially effective in the long-term. Just a thought.
The Panama Canal is not the high seas. It’s private property and the owner is entitled to charge tolls.
He’s already backed away from that toll idea, maybe because somebody on his staff pointed out that he thought it was a real bad idea when the Iranians were proposing it.
Mr. President, let your military “handle this” and just once, refrain from daily (or hourly) commentary.
Good luck with that. Trump just loves setting official government policy by making grand statements on TruthSocial.
I wish someone would offer an explanation of why Iran has ANY off-shore capabilities at all.
With our current all-weather, 24/7 surveillance systems, both long-endurance drones and satellites, combined with the massive processing power of the “intelligence community” they should have been able to track and pinpoint the origin/base/harbor of every single Iranian ship and boat in the Strait, the Persian Gulf, and the Gulf of Oman.
And why are they using multi-million dollar weapons on fast-boats or submarines in harbor? They’re wasting a weapon on a target that costs 1/100th as much as the missile that blew it up. That submarine in the hoist, for example, could have had a couple of 500-pound dumb bombs dropped on it for a fraction of the cost. If the US doesn’t have complete and total air supremacy at this point they’ve done yet another thing radically wrong. If some suicide-mission fast-boat does emerge from some hidden harbor, scramble a couple of Warthogs and expend a few hundred rounds from its cannon…don’t throw away our tiny remaining supply of smart weapons on this junk.
But I’ll guarantee everyone that the military-industrial complex absolutely LOVES this high-tech approach to low-value targets, so these kinds of things probably won’t change.
It purportedly is a long coastline with lots of little inlets and places to hide their assets. We can’t no doubt watch everywhere at once at least not yet.
A10s are being used. So are Apaches or so I’ve read.
The US recently used drone boats. I don’t know the cost of those or whether they were a kamikaze drone or not. The air version of kamikaze drone the US used costs 35K a pop, Its design is based on an Iranian drone. Love it.