President Donald Trump detailed a sweeping “all-or-nothing” U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in a “Sunday Morning Futures” exclusive interview, vowing to choke off Iran’s oil profits and warning that no country — ally or adversary — will be allowed to bypass the crackdown.
“We’re not going to let Iran make money on selling oil to people that they like and not people that they don’t like… It’s going to be all or none and that’s the way it is,” Trump said.
“You saw what we did with Venezuela. It’ll be something very similar to that but at a higher level.”
The president told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo that the policy would be strictly “all or nothing,” meaning every country would either be allowed full access through the waterway or none at all, with no exceptions for allies.
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“We think that numerous countries are going to be helping us with this also, but we’re putting on a complete blockade,” he said.
Trump announced the blockade in a Truth Social post shortly before the broadcast, blaming the decision on a failure to reach a deal with Iran during talks in Pakistan this weekend.
“So, there you have it, the meeting went well, most points were agreed to, but the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not. Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz,” he wrote in part.
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“At some point, we will reach an ‘ALL BEING ALLOWED TO GO IN, ALL BEING ALLOWED TO GO OUT’ basis, but Iran has not allowed that to happen by merely saying, ‘There may be a mine out there somewhere,’ that nobody knows about but them. THIS IS WORLD EXTORTION, and Leaders of Countries, especially the United States of America, will never be extorted,” Trump continued.
Trump’s post continued, declaring that U.S. forces will begin destroying mines laid in the strait while detailing his instructions for the Navy to “seek and interdict” every vessel in International waters that has paid an “illegal” toll to Iran.
He also vowed that any Iranian who fires at U.S. forces or peaceful vessels will be “blown to hell.”
As normal operations remain suspended in the Strait of Hormuz, a slew of tankers is en route to the Gulf of America “to load up and deliver to shortage-hit markets,” said Windward, an AI company that tracks what is happening at sea.
This could help relieve pressure on global oil markets, which have been strained by disruptions in the critical waterway that carries a significant share of the world’s energy supply.
Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
