The United States Central Command, which has control of United States military forces in the Middle East, is counting coup this morning on a successful implementation of a naval blockade of Iranian ports. We should note that the U.S. is not closing the Strait of Hormuz; they are enforcing a naval blockade only of Iranian ports and Iranian shipping.
More than 10,000 U.S. Sailors, Marines, and Airmen along with over a dozen warships and dozens of aircraft are executing the mission to blockade ships entering and departing Iranian ports. During the first 24 hours, no ships made it past the U.S. blockade and 6 merchant vessels… pic.twitter.com/dpWAAknzQp
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 14, 2026
The post continues:
...and 6 merchant vessels complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around to re-enter an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman.
The blockade is being enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. U.S. forces are supporting freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.
The door is closed on Iran; so far, at least, Iranian ports are now closed.
On Fox News' America's Newsroom, host Bill Hemmer provided some very good details on how all this is working.
🚨IRAN BLOCKADE: @billhemmer goes in-depth into how American forces are cutting off trade to Iranian ports -- and what happens when a ship gets intercepted by the U.S. Navy. pic.twitter.com/SbzKb6w6CO
— America's Newsroom (@AmericaNewsroom) April 14, 2026
In summary, the United States Navy, supported by the United States Air Force, has drawn a ring of steel around all Iranian ports and is intercepting any attempts at Iranian shipping or, indeed, any shipping entering or leaving Iranian ports.
Read More: CENTCOM Starts the Iranian Blockade Monday - Here Are the Rules and What to Look For
Iran Now Threatening U.S. Navy With Speedboats: They Should Ask the Cartels How That Works
What's interesting here is that Iran, despite being a major petroleum supplier, actually imports gasoline and diesel fuel, due to shortfalls in refining capacity. The ongoing conflict has resulted in a global increase in energy prices, particularly gasoline and diesel, but there's an opportunity here to strangle Iran's economy by shutting off those imports. Will this force the Iranian regime, or what's left of it, back to the bargaining table? That's yet to be seen, but their appearance in Pakistan in the last round of talks seemed characterized by an arrogant presumption on the part of the Iranian representatives, wherein they presumed they still had some cards left to play.
If the blockade holds, and there's little reason to think why it wouldn't, this is not only going to reveal Iran's tough talk about the Strait of Hormuz as an utter sham, but it will also tighten the screws on the 7th-century barbarians who are still technically in charge in Tehran. This, indeed, may well be the endgame.
War is anything but predictable. But it's growing more and more difficult to see a way out of this for Iran - or, at least, for the remnants of the rule of the mullahs. Stay tuned.
Editor's Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.
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