The ceasefire in the Iran war appears to be in jeopardy. Iran’s military leadership has threatened to resume attacks in light of the US naval blockade if the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz threatens the safety of Iranian merchant ships and oil tankers, said a statement from the military leadership, as reported by the Iranian news agency Tasnim.
A possible consequence would be another blockade in the Red Sea, as the state news agency Irna reported. Specifically, the Houthi militia in Yemen, which is allied with Tehran, could block shipping traffic in the Bab al-Mandab Strait with threats and attacks. It connects Europe with Asia via the Suez Canal and is one of the most important routes for maritime trade. Experts fear significantly higher oil prices in this case. However, US President Donald Trump sees opportunities for another round of negotiations with Tehran soon.
US blocks Iranian shipping traffic
Meanwhile, the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz for Iranian tankers and merchant ships has started successfully, according to the US military. “The blockade of Iranian ports has been fully implemented,” said the commander of the US regional command Centcom, Admiral Brad Cooper, on the online platform X. U.S. forces have brought trade to and from Iran by sea to a complete standstill.
To enforce the naval blockade, the military says it is using more than twelve warships, more than 100 combat and surveillance aircraft and around 10,000 military personnel.
Trump wants to prevent Iran from charging shipping companies fees for passage through the strait and wants to cut off the country from oil revenues. This should increase the pressure on Tehran in negotiations. Iran is one of the largest oil producers in the world.
US expert sees black for Tehran
A US sanctions expert has calculated the consequences: A naval blockade causes around 435 million US dollars (around 370 million euros) in combined economic damage in Iran every day, according to Miad Maleki on Platform The national currency, the rial, will finally collapse. “The blockade makes continued resistance economically impossible,” said the expert, who formerly worked for the US government.
Trump once again gives hope that the war will end soon
US President Trump sees opportunities for a second round of negotiations with Tehran soon. “Something could happen in the next two days,” he told the New York Post by phone, without giving further details. A first round of talks between the USA and Iran recently ended in the Pakistani capital Islamabad without any results.
Trump also once again fueled hope that the war would end in the foreseeable future. “I think it’s almost over,” he told US television channel Fox News. He added: “I mean, the way I look at it is that it’s almost over.” Trump reiterated in the interview that a prerequisite for an agreement was that Iran should not have nuclear weapons. However, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman emphasized that the level of uranium enrichment could be negotiated, but his country would not give up the right to enrich it.
Amid this speculation about diplomatic initiatives, Pakistan’s prime minister is embarking on a multi-day trip to other mediating states. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is traveling to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, the Foreign Ministry said. Pakistan plays a key role in diplomatic efforts to end the war. The two-week ceasefire in the Iran war expires on April 22nd.
The guns continue to speak in Lebanon
Shortly after the first direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in decades, attacks between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia continue. The Lebanese news agency NNA reported deaths in Israeli air strikes overnight and early in the morning in the south of the country. Meanwhile, the Israeli military announced this morning that “targeted ground operations” were continuing in the south of the neighboring country. The aim is to protect the population in northern Israel.
This means that an appeal from a group of ten countries for “an immediate end to the fighting in Lebanon” initially went unheard. In the joint statement, Canada, Great Britain, Switzerland and seven other countries said they were “deeply concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation and the displacement crisis in Lebanon.” They warned that civilians and civilian infrastructure in particular must be protected from the effects of hostilities.
Trump ups the ante in the dispute with the Pope
In the dispute with Pope Leo XIV over his appeal for an end to the various wars in the world, Trump has upped the ante. “Can someone please tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 innocent, completely unarmed protesters in the last two months?” wrote the US president on his Truth Social platform. It is “absolutely unacceptable” for Iran to have a nuclear bomb. On Saturday in Rome, Pope Leo
