Peace talk with Iran fails; Trump vows to blockade the Strait of Hormuz
Teresa Li
Published: April 12th, 2026
| U.S. Vice-President JD Vance, centre, arrives for ceasefire talks with Iranian officials in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Saturday. The war, which began when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, has killed thousands of people and largely cut off the Persian Gulf from the global economy. (Jacquelyn Martin/The Associated Press)
U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday said, "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."
The 21-hour peace talk between the U.S. and Iran has come to no fruition after the Iranians refused to accept American terms to not develop a nuclear weapon.
President Donald Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social that "most points were agreed to, but the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not."
Meanwhile, Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf said the U.S. "ultimately failed to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations."
| Iranian Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, in a media conference at a conference hall in the Iranian Parliament building on December 2, 2025. | Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The Strait of Hormuz was responsible for the shipping of 20% of global oil supplies before the fighting began. Since then, Iran has restricted passage through the strait, and oil prices have skyrocketed.
The Philippines has declared a state of national energy emergency, Thailand has ordered public office employees to work from home, and South Korea is encouraging people to take shorter showers and to use washing machines only on weekends. Countries all over Asia are scrambling to find ways to save oil and fuel.
Due to their reliance on oil imports from the Middle East, several Asian countries, including Pakistan, India, the Philippines, and China, have made agreements with Tehran to let some ships pass through safely.
But now, President Trump has instructed the U.S. Navy "to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran," and the Navy "will also begin destroying the mines the Iranians laid in the Straits."
He emphasized that "any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!"
This raises some questions:
How will sending more troops to the Straight of Hormuz influence the relationship between the U.S. and Iran?
And how will blockading the strait affect the global energy crisis?
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