Published: 12:22 AM, 14 April 2026 Last Update: 12:51 AM, 14 April 2026
US military blockade on Iranian ports takes effect
Chabahar Port, located in Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman, is considered as a gateway to prosperity in south eastern part of Iran. -Agency
The US military blockade on all traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports started at 10 a.m. ET on Monday, after weekend peace talks in Pakistan faltered. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has vowed to retaliate.
TRUMP SAYS IRANIAN SHIPS THAT COME CLOSE TO US BLOCKADE WILL BE ELIMINATED:
US President Donald Trump on Monday warned that Iranian ships that come close to the US blockade of Iranian ports will be "immediately eliminated".
It was not immediately clear that the US had mobilised to execute the blockade, as MR Trump and the US military had announced.
Mr Trump warned in a separate post on Sunday that the US was "LOCKED AND LOADED" to "finish up the little that is left of Iran" and pledged that any Iranian ship that fires on "peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!"
Iran, meanwhile, has said it would target all ports in and close to the Persian Gulf if its own shipping hubs are threatened - setting up a fresh standoff in the vital waterway that typically sees flows of about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas.
MARITIME ROUTES SHOULD NOT BE USED AS A BARGAINING CHIP: QATAR
Qatar said on Monday in a call with Iran that maritime routes should not be used as a "bargaining chip," while warning of the negative impacts of such actions on global energy supplies and international security.
The Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which one-fifth of the world's crude oil flows, has been effectively closed by Tehran since the conflict began. The US military launched a blockade on all traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports.
In the call, Qatar's prime minister and foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, expressed to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi the "importance of keeping maritime routes open and ensuring freedom of navigation."
"During the conversation, the two sides stressed the importance of maintaining the ceasefire between Iran and the United States in a bid to enhance regional stability," Qatar's Foreign Ministry posted on social media.
The Qatari leader also expressed to Iran the "need for all parties to respond positively to ongoing mediation efforts, calling for dialogue and peaceful means to address the root causes of the crisis."
Meanwhile, oil prices again topped $100 a barrel and stock markets fell as the collapsed weekend talks and blockade are set to further disrupt the global economy.
US AIRCRAFT CARRIER AND TWO DESTROYERS SPOTTED NEAR GULF OF OMAN:
BBC Verify has been checking satellite imagery to get an idea of which US Navy warships are in the Middle East after President Donald Trump said a blockade of Iran-linked ships would come into effect at 14:00 GMT (15:00 BST) today.
Satellite imagery from Saturday shows the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier positioned at the eastern edge of the Gulf of Oman, roughly 200km (124 miles) to the south of the Iranian coast.
This is the closest to the Gulf that we have observed the nuclear-powered warship since the start of the war.
Two other nearby warships visible in the imagery are consistent in size and shape with US Navy guided-missile destroyers.
They are likely to be part of the Lincoln's carrier strike group, but we cannot identify exactly which vessels are visible.
PAKISTAN PM SAYS EFFORTS TO RESOLVE CONFLICT STILL UNDER WAY:
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says efforts are ongoing to resolve the conflict between the US and Iran.
It comes after negotiations between the two nations - held in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, over the weekend - failed to amount to a deal.
"The ceasefire is still holding and, as I speak, full efforts are under way to resolve the outstanding issues," Sharif tells his cabinet, according to translation by the AFP news agency.
