U.S. Central Command Enforces Iran Port Blockade, Halting Sea Trade Worldwide

The United States has imposed a naval blockade aimed at maritime traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports, and U.S. officials say it is being enforced in a way that halts economic trade by sea.

Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, said the blockade that started Monday “has been fully implemented,” adding that “U.S. forces have completely halted economic trade going in and out of Iran by sea.”

Al Jazeera

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon that the blockade applies “to all ships, regardless of nationality, heading into or from Iranian ports,” while also warning that “Any ship that would cross the blockade would result in our sailors executing pre-planned tactics designed to bring the force to that ship — if need be, board the ship and take her over.”

The U.S. military has also widened its efforts beyond the blockade of Iran’s ports to allow forces around the world to stop any ship tied to Tehran or suspected of carrying supplies that could help its government.

The Associated Press reported that U.S. forces “will actively pursue any Iranian-flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran,” and that a notice published Thursday says certain goods “are ‘subject to capture at any place beyond neutral territory.’”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. will maintain the “successful blockade” of the Strait of Hormuz and warned that the military can “make the transition” from blockade to “major combat operations.”

In parallel, the Pentagon described an enforcement posture that includes boarding and seizure, with the radio broadcast to vessels stating, “Vessels will be boarded for interdiction and seizure transiting to or from Iranian port.”

U.S. officials and shipping-data firms say Iran-linked or sanctioned vessels that left the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz have stopped or turned around as the blockade took effect.

The reporting described how some ships appeared to jam or fake their locations, complicating what was already described as an “uncertain and risky shipping situation.”

AP News

Adm. Brad Cooper said the blockade “has been fully implemented,” and the Associated Press reported that in the first three days of the military action, 14 ships had turned around rather than confront the naval blockade.

CNBC reported that the Pentagon said the Navy stopped 13 ships from passing the blockade after it began more than 24 hours earlier, and it quoted Gen. Dan Caine saying, “The U.S. action is a blockade of Iran's ports and coastline, not a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.”

The U.S. Central Command said no vessels had made it past its forces during the first 48 hours, and it noted that 10 vessels had complied with directions to turn around and return toward an Iranian port or Iran’s coastal area.

Ana Subasic, a trade risk analyst at Kpler, said on Tuesday that only eight vessels, “most of them linked to Iran or sanctioned,” transited the strait, and she said the environment remained “extremely high risk” despite the ceasefire.

The reporting also described specific ship behavior: the Rich Starry, a Chinese-owned tanker previously sanctioned by the U.S. for smuggling Iranian petroleum products, left the strait and then turned back, with radio transponder data showing it entered the Persian Gulf on April 4 empty of cargo and later reappeared off the United Arab Emirates laden with oil.

Another example cited was the oil-products tanker Elpis, which left Iranian waters Monday, passed through the strait, then cut its engines in the Gulf of Oman, after which it turned off its radio transponder Tuesday and its current location couldn’t be independently verified.

Alongside the blockade, U.S. leaders said they are prepared to use force to compel compliance and described how the operation would work if ships approach.

“The US military has claimed its blockade of Iranian ports has completely halted economic trade going into and out of Iran by sea since it came into force on 13 April”

BBC

CBS News quoted Gen. Dan Caine warning, “If you do not comply with the blockade, we will use force,” and it reported that Caine said the blockade applies “to all ships, regardless of nationality, heading into or from Iranian ports.”

The Associated Press reported that the military detailed contraband categories and said it will board, search and seize them from merchant vessels “regardless of location,” while a notice published Thursday says “goods that are destined for an enemy and that may be susceptible to use in armed conflict” are “subject to capture at any place beyond neutral territory.”

In the same reporting, the Pentagon described “absolute contraband” including “weapons, ammunition and military equipment,” while also listing “conditional contraband” such as “oil, iron, steel, aluminum and other goods.”

The U.S. also said it is warning ships approaching the blockade, with Caine telling reporters, “Any ship that would cross the blockade would result in our sailors executing pre-planned tactics designed to bring the force to that ship — if need be, board the ship and take her over.”

The reporting also included a radio broadcast recording released by U.S. Central Command, stating, “Vessels will be boarded for interdiction and seizure transiting to or from Iranian port,” and it added, “Turn around or prepare to be boarded. If you do not comply with this blockade, we will use force.”

DefenseScoop reported that at a Pentagon briefing, Hegseth, Caine, and Adm. Brad Cooper discussed Operation Epic Fury and said it is being enforced with integrated intelligence, surveillance, and tactical assets.

Hegseth told the podium, “You, Iran, can choose a prosperous future, a golden bridge,” and he warned that if Iran chooses poorly, “they will have a blockade and bombs dropping on infrastructure, power and energy,” while also saying “This blockade, which the chairman will detail this morning, is the polite way that this can go.”

U.S. officials framed the blockade as part of a broader effort to obstruct Iran’s revenue streams and to intensify economic pressure through sanctions.

DefenseScoop reported that the United States launched Operation Economic Fury to disrupt Iran’s sea-based economic trade, citing senior defense officials who said Thursday that at least 13 ships had retreated and turned back since the military operation was initiated on Monday.

CBS News

At the Pentagon briefing, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, “And at the same time, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and our friends over at [the Treasury Department] are launching Operation Economic Fury as well, maximizing economic pressure across the entirety of the government to Iran.”

DefenseScoop also reported that Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control revealed on Wednesday that it had been intensifying pressure on Iran’s oil transportation infrastructure and sanctioned “more than two dozen individuals, companies, and vessels” operating within a network tied to Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani.

The article identified Shamkhani as “the son of senior Iranian security official Ali Shamkhani, who was killed by U.S. strikes on the first day of the war,” and it quoted Bessent saying, “Treasury is moving aggressively with Economic Fury by targeting regime elites like the Shamkhani family that attempt to profit at the expense of the Iranian people.”

Bessent added, “Under President Trump’s leadership, Treasury will continue to cut off Iran’s illicit smuggling and terror proxy networks,” and he said “Financial institutions should be on notice that Treasury will leverage all tools and authorities, including secondary sanctions, against those that continue to support Tehran’s terrorist activities.”

The reporting also connected the economic pressure to the war’s fragile ceasefire, noting that mediators were pressing for an extension to a truce that paused almost seven weeks of war between Israel, the U.S. and Iran.

In the same context, the Associated Press said the expansion of U.S. military efforts to target Iranian shipping is “another pressure point for Tehran” as the ceasefire is set to expire in mere days.

The blockade is unfolding as ceasefire negotiations and diplomatic efforts continue, with U.S. officials warning that they can quickly shift from blockade to major combat operations if Iran does not comply.

CBS News reported that the news conference came “just over eight days into the ceasefire,” and it said a senior U.S. official told CBS News on Wednesday that the country “has not formally agreed to an extension of the ceasefire,” but discussions are ongoing.

CNBC

The Associated Press reported that mediators are pressing for an extension to a truce that has paused almost seven weeks of war between Israel, the U.S. and Iran, and it said the ceasefire is set to expire in mere days.

In parallel, SMH.au reported that the U.S. and Iran are considering a two-week ceasefire extension to allow more time to negotiate a peace deal, and it said fighting between the U.S. and Iran has been on hold since about April 8, shortly after a two-week ceasefire was announced by President Donald Trump the previous evening.

SMH.au also quoted White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying the US had not “formally requested an extension of the ceasefire” and that “At this moment, we remain very much engaged in these negotiations.”

The same SMH.au report said that possible next rounds of talks “would very likely” be in Islamabad, and it described China’s foreign minister Wang Yi telling Abbas Araghchi that “Working to resume normal passage of the strait is a unanimous call from the international community.”

On the military side, CBS News quoted Hegseth saying the U.S. will maintain the “successful blockade” and that the U.S. military can “make the transition” from this blockade to “major combat operations,” while Caine emphasized the U.S. joint forces “remains postured and ready to resume major combat operations at literally a moment's notice.”

Meanwhile, the New York Times described how the blockade aims to change the “new normal” in the Strait of Hormuz since late February, and it said that since the U.S. blockade took effect, no ships linked to Iran have been spotted leaving the region, according to Kpler.