US President Declares Naval Blockade on Iran

WASHINGTON - July 13, 2026: US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the United States is reinstating a naval blockade on Iran, blocking all ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports, in a major escalation that strips away one of the last remaining concessions that had underpinned the ceasefire reached with Tehran last month.

"The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran. We are reinstating THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE, so named because it is only stopping Iran's ships or customers from entering or leaving," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. "All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait."

A 20% Fee and a New Title

In his announcement, Trump said the United States "will be, from this point forward, known as 'THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,'" and would seek to be reimbursed at a rate of 20 percent on all cargo shipped through the waterway, in exchange for providing what he described as safety and security in the volatile region. "The process and formation will begin immediately," he added, though the details and practical enforcement of the proposed fee were not immediately clear.

The renewed blockade had not yet taken effect at the time of the announcement, owing to a legal requirement to notify ship owners 24 hours in advance. A US official said US Central Command would announce the specific timing later on Monday.

The Collapse of the June Ceasefire

The blockade marks a further unraveling of the memorandum of understanding the US and Iran signed in mid-June, which Trump declared "over" last week after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps resumed attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The lifting of an earlier blockade — first imposed on April 13 following the failure of the Islamabad Talks — had been a central part of that agreement, alongside the reopening of the strait.

"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 told Fox News on Monday, signaling that US strikes on Iran would continue.

A Weekend of Escalating Strikes

The blockade announcement followed the fifth round of US military strikes on Iranian territory since the ceasefire, in which US forces targeted Iranian air-defense systems, coastal radar sites, ballistic missile and armed drone systems, and small attack boats. According to CENTCOM, the operation used fighter jets, naval vessels, one-way attack drones, and — for the first time — unmanned naval attack drones.

Iran retaliated overnight by targeting Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait with ballistic missiles, once again threatening to reopen the multi-sided conflict. Iranian forces also reported attacking US-linked sites across the region, while Gulf states including Qatar condemned the renewed Iranian attacks as a dangerous escalation.

Economic Stakes

The earlier blockade, in place since April, had taken a heavy toll on Iran's economy. Trump claimed in April that it was costing Iran roughly $500 million per day, while the US Department of Defense estimated Iran had lost some $4.8 billion in oil revenue by the start of May. According to CENTCOM figures cited in reporting, the earlier blockade saw three ships seized and 85 vessels intercepted, though Lloyd's List reported that 26 vessels had managed to bypass it. Iran, for its part, seized two cargo ships in retaliation during the earlier phase.

What to Watch

With the blockade set to take effect once the 24-hour notification period elapses, attention now turns to how Iran responds, whether global shipping companies alter their transit patterns through Hormuz, how oil markets react to the renewed disruption, and whether any diplomatic channel — including ongoing mediation by Oman, Qatar, and Pakistan — can halt the rapidly widening confrontation.

Sources: Truth Social; Al-Monitor; Axios; Forbes; The Washington Post; US Central Command. This is a developing story and will be updated as details emerge.