Trump Threatens Strikes as Iran Fires on Ships in Strait of Hormuz

The Strait of Hormuz has become the focus of a renewed confrontation between Washington and Tehran, as Iran reversed its decision on reopening the waterway and its military opened fire on a ship attempting to pass after U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington would continue its blockade on Iranian ports.

Al Jazeera describes the strait as “a chokepoint for about a fifth of the world’s oil,” and says the standoff is complicating efforts to end the war.

Al Jazeera

Iran’s reversal came after Trump said the U.S. would not be “blackmailed,” even as he claimed there had been “very good” discussions.

Newsday reports that the strait is closed until the U.S. blockade is lifted, and says Iran’s Revolutionary Guard navy said the closure began Saturday night.

NewsNation adds that Trump accused Iran of violating a ceasefire agreement after gunfire was directed at foreign vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, including ships linked to France and the United Kingdom.

Anadolu Ajansı further states that Trump alleged Iran targeted vessels “including a French ship and a UK-flagged freighter,” and that he said U.S. representatives would be in Islamabad for negotiations.

Across the accounts, the immediate operational picture is that traffic in the Persian Gulf shifted as reports of fire and withdrawals emerged, and Lloyd’s List said traffic in the Strait of Hormuz “had come to a halt” after Iranian forces fired on several ships on Saturday.

The dispute over Hormuz hinges on competing claims about what the ceasefire allows and what the U.S. blockade requires, with Iran describing its actions as a response to the blockade that began on April 14.

Al Jazeera says Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters on Friday that the strait would be open for commercial vessels during the truce, which ends on April 22, “in “line with the ceasefire in Lebanon”.”

Al Jazeera

It then says Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced a clear reversal, saying the Strait of Hormuz would not return to its “previous state” amid the blockade of Iranian ports.

The IRGC’s joint military command, as cited by Iranian broadcaster IRIB, said the U.S. has “continued acts of piracy and maritime theft under the guise of a so-called blockade,” and added that “control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state.”

NewsNation similarly ties the closure to the U.S. blockade, quoting Iran’s parliamentary Speaker Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf saying the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed as long as the U.S. imposes a naval blockade on Iran.

In the U.S. narrative, Trump says the blockade will continue until a deal is finalised, and he accused Iran of violating the ceasefire agreement while saying U.S. negotiators would go to Islamabad, Pakistan on Monday.

NewsNation and Anadolu Ajansı both report Trump’s threats to “knock out every single power plant, and every single bridge, in Iran” if talks fail, while Iran’s foreign ministry says the U.S. blockade violates a ceasefire mediated by Pakistan and constitutes “an act of aggression under international law.”

While the standoff tightened around the strait, multiple outlets reported that U.S. representatives were preparing to travel to Islamabad, Pakistan to resume negotiations with Iran.

Al Jazeera says Trump accused Iran of violating the ceasefire agreement in a Truth Social post on Sunday, but added that U.S. negotiators will be heading to Islamabad, Pakistan on Monday to strike a deal.

Newsday similarly states that Trump said US negotiators will be in Pakistan on Monday for talks with Iran, resuming negotiations after Iran reversed its decision to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

NewsNation adds that Vice President JD Vance and envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be traveling to Islamabad for the talks, according to the White House.

Anadolu Ajansı reports Trump’s own post that “My Representatives are going to Islamabad, Pakistan — They will be there tomorrow evening, for Negotiations,” and it frames the trip as a response to Trump’s allegation that Iran fired bullets in the Strait of Hormuz.

In Iran’s messaging, NewsNation quotes parliamentary Speaker Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf saying the strait is now under Iran’s control and linking reopening to the U.S. lifting of its blockade.

The immediate maritime environment described by Al Jazeera and Newsday is that after a short-lived rise in transit attempts, ships in the Persian Gulf stayed put again after reports of vessels coming under fire mid-passage and being forced to withdraw.

The reports of gunfire and the resulting halt in shipping were accompanied by diplomatic actions and maritime tracking, with multiple outlets describing how specific governments reacted and how vessels moved or reversed course.

Al Jazeera says the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency received a report of a tanker being fired upon by what it said were two gunboats linked to the IRGC, and it also says India summoned the Iranian ambassador in New Delhi.

Anadolu Ajansı

Newsday adds that hours earlier, two gunboats from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard opened fire on a tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz, and it says the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center reported that the tanker and crew were safe.

NewsNation repeats the claim that the U.S. naval blockade had already shut the waterway and that oil tankers were instead heading to U.S. ports in Texas, Louisiana and Alaska, while also stating that Trump said Iran was losing about $500 million a day as a result.

Newsday and Al Jazeera both connect the shipping disruption to global energy pressures, with Newsday saying roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strait and that supply constraints are driving prices higher once again.

Newsday also reports that MarineTraffic showed vessels trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz reversed course, and it says the Iranian navy reimposed tight restrictions on transit while the U.S. blockades Iran’s ports and waters.

It further states that Kpler said 19 vessels had passed through the strait on Friday after Iran and the U.S. announced the reopening late last week, but that on Saturday U.S. Central Command said it had sent 23 ships back to Iran since its blockade began, and at least three vessels were attacked by Iran while attempting to cross.

The stakes of the Hormuz standoff are framed in the sources through threats of military action, the risk of escalation, and the economic consequences of disrupted shipping.

“Trump says US envoys heading to Islamabad for Iran talks amid Strait of Hormuz tensions US president says Iran violated ceasefire by targeting vessels, warns of possible strikes on Iranian infrastructure if deal rejected Fatma Zehra Solmaz 19 April 2026•Update: 19 April 2026 ISTANBUL US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that US representatives are set to reach Islamabad tomorrow evening for negotiations with Iran”

Anadolu Ajansı

Trump’s warnings are explicit in multiple reports: Al Jazeera says Trump refused to end the blockade until a deal is finalised and notes that he said there have been “very good” discussions but Washington won’t be “blackmailed,” while NewsNation and Anadolu Ajansı quote him threatening to “knock out every single power plant, and every single bridge, in Iran” if Iran refuses a deal.

CNN

Newsday adds that the escalating standoff threatened to deepen the energy crisis roiling the global economy and push the two countries toward renewed conflict, and it ties the disruption to supply constraints that are driving prices higher once again.

NewsNation also reports that Trump said Iran was losing about $500 million a day as a result of the U.S. naval blockade shutting the waterway, and it says oil tankers are heading to U.S. ports in Texas, Louisiana and Alaska.

Al Jazeera describes how after a short-lived rise in transit attempts, ships pulled back and restored the strait to its pre-ceasefire status, raising the risk of a worsening global energy crunch and increasing the likelihood of renewed fighting.

The sources also include a warning about the escalation ladder from Mike Waltz, who is quoted by NewsNation as saying “that would be an escalatory ladder,” and who told ABC’s “This Week” that Iran has “a long history of actually deliberately hiding military infrastructure in hospitals, schools, neighborhoods and … and other civilian assets.”

Taken together, the sources depict a cycle in which maritime incidents, blockade disputes, and public threats run alongside negotiations planned for Islamabad, with the truce timeline ending on April 22 referenced by Al Jazeera and the immediate shipping disruption described as returning to pre-ceasefire conditions.