Iran live updates: US blockade of Iran's Strait of Hormuz ports to begin Monday

CENTCOM said it will block all traffic 'entering and exiting Iranian ports.'

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Last updated: Monday, April 13, 2026 6:12PM GMT
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President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military and government sites.

Trump set a deadline for Iran to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face broad strikes on its critical infrastructure. Hours before the deadline expired, Trump said he had agreed to suspend planned bombing for two weeks if Iran agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi then said that "safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran's Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he supported the ceasefire with Iran, but that Lebanon -- where intense Israeli strikes continued -- was not covered by the agreement, despite Iranian protests.

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Apr 12, 2026, 2:00 PM GMT

President Trump says U.S. Navy will begin blockade of Strait of Hormuz

President Donald Trump said that the U.S. will "immediately" begin a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, following the failure of peace negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.

"(T)he meeting went well, most points were agreed to, but the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not," Trump wrote on his social media platform Sunday. "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 president did not provide specifics in his social media posts. ABC News has reached out to the White House for comment.

Trump's statement comes after Vice President JD Vance, leading a U.S. delegation for high-stakes talks with Iran, said Saturday that the two sides had not reached a deal despite negotiations lasting some 21 hours in Islamabad, Pakistan. Though he declined to provide specifics about why the negotiations deteriorated, Vance said it was in part because the U.S. did not see the "fundamental commitment" from the Iranians not to develop a nuclear weapon in the long term.

Calling Iran's blockage of the Strait of Hormuz "WORLD EXTORTION," the president also said that he had "instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran. No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas."

"We will also begin destroying the mines the Iranians laid in the Straits," Trump wrote. "Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!"

"The Blockade will begin shortly. Other Countries will be involved with this Blockade. Iran will not be allowed to profit off this Illegal Act of EXTORTION," the president wrote. "They want money and, more importantly, they want Nuclear. Additionally and, at an appropriate moment, we are fully 'LOCKED AND LOADED,' and our Military will finish up the little that is left of Iran!"

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Apr 12, 2026, 2:12 AM GMT

No deal with Iran after 21-hour negotiations, Vance says

Vice President JD Vance, leading a U.S. delegation for high-stakes talks with Iran, said the two sides have not reached a deal despite negotiations lasting some 21 hours in Islamabad, Pakistan.

"The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement," Vance said in brief remarks following the conclusion of the talks. "And I think that's bad news for Iran much more than it's bad news for the United States of America. So we go back to the United States having not come to an agreement."

When asked where the negotiations deteriorated, Vance said he wouldn't get into the full details but that the U.S. needed a firm commitment from Iran that it would not seek a nuclear weapon.

"The simple fact is we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon," Vance said. "That is the core goal of the President of the United States."

Although Vance said during his remarks that Iran's enrichment facilities have been destroyed, he said the U.S. did not see the "fundamental commitment" from the Iranians not to develop a nuclear weapon in the long term.

"I think that we were quite flexible, we were quite accommodating," Vance told reporters. "The president told us you need to come here in good faith and make your best effort to get a deal."

But he said Iran did not accept U.S. terms.

In addition to Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner took part in the talks.

Vance said the team communicated with President Donald Trump and other members of the Cabinet throughout the negotiation process.

-ABC News' Hannah Demissie and Emily Chang

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Apr 12, 2026, 1:05 AM GMT

Marathon high-stakes talks continue late into the night

The trilateral in-person negotiations between the U.S, Iran and Pakistan have continued into the early morning hours, according to the White House.

Asked about the state of ongoing negotiations being led by Vice President JD Vance, a senior White House official told ABC News: "15 hours and counting!"

The statement came shortly after 7:30 p.m. ET, which is 4:30 a.m. in Islamabad where the talks are taking place.

Both sides met first with Pakistani leaders before the historic sitdown Saturday, the highest level face-to-face meeting between the U.S. and Iran in 47 years.

In addition to Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner took part in the talks with top Iranian officials, including the speaker of the Iranian Parliament.

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Apr 11, 2026, 9:53 PM GMT

Trump says it 'makes no difference to him' if US, Iran make a deal or not

Speaking to reporters at the White House before leaving for Miami, President Donald Trump said he doesn't "care" what happens with Iran negotiations because "regardless what happens, we win."

"Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me," Trump said.

Throughout the gaggle, Trump repeatedly asserted that the United States emerges victorious, no matter the result of the ongoing negotiations in Islamabad, Pakistan.

"We'll see what happens. Look, regardless we win. Regardless what happens, we win. We totally defeated that country. And so let's see what happens. Maybe they make a deal. Maybe they don't. From the standpoint of America, we win," Trump said.

While claiming that the U.S. will open the Strait of Hormuz, the president repeated his usual criticism against other countries for their lack of assistance with the critical waterway.

"Now all we do is we'll open up the strait even though we don't use it, because we have a lot of other countries in the world that do use it, that are either afraid or weak or cheap," he said.

Asked about Iran's assets, which is a key point in the Iranian's proposal, the president sidestepped and said the U.S. is in "very deep negotiations with Iran" before repeating the assertions that the U.S. will "win regardless."

The president also repeated his claims from this morning that other countries are sending oil tankers to the U.S. to be filled with oil and gas, calling this a "beautiful thing."

"One of the things that's happening is that boats are sailing up and heading out to our country - big, beautiful tankers, and we're loading them up with oil and gas and everything else and it's pretty, beautiful thing to see," he said.

Trump also acknowledged that Iran "probably [has] a couple of mines" in the Strait of Hormuz but emphasized that the U.S. has minesweepers to combat this.

"They probably have a couple of mines in the water. We have mine sweepers out there. We're sweeping these straight. In addition to that, we're negotiating," Trump said.

-ABC News' Emily Chang