Trump says US to start blockading Hormuz after no deal in Islamabad; Iran underscores 'trust'

WASHINGTON, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Apr, 2026) President Donald Trump said Sunday the US Navy would immediately start blockading the strait of Hormuz and would also interdict every vessel in international waters that had paid a toll to Iran after marathon peace talks between top Iranian and American leaders in Pakistan ended without a breakthrough.

According to analysts, the Us president's statement was aimed at building pressure on Iran to make a deal on American terms.

In a lengthy Truth Social post, Trump said the US is going to start “BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz”.

Trump said that the US Navy is going to start “ destroying the mines the Iranians laid in the straits”, warning that any Iranian who fires at the US or at “peaceful vessels will be blown to hell”.

“No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas,” he said, adding that the blockade – which will involve -- so far unspecified -- other countries – will “begin shortly”.

“Iran will not be allowed to profit off this Illegal Act of EXTORTION. They want money and, more importantly, they want Nuclear,” Trump wrote.

Trump's announcement plunged the already fragile ceasefire into further uncertainty.

Vice President JD Vance and the chief Iranian negotiator, Mohammad Ghalibaf, met in Islamabad over the weekend, but did not reach a deal to fully reopen the strait or conclusively end the war.

In this regard, Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar urged the United States and Iran to remain committed to the ceasefire after both countries ended historic face-to-face talks..

“It is imperative that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to the ceasefire,” Dar said in a press conference following the conclusion of the 21-hour marathon talks

On the other hand, Ghalibaf, who is the speaker of the Iranian parliament, said that U.S. officials “failed to gain the trust” of their Iranian counterparts during Islamabad peace talks.

“Before the negotiations, I emphasized that we have the necessary good faith and will, but due to the experiences of the two previous wars, we have no trust in the opposing side,” Ghalibaf wrote on the social media platform X, referencing U.

S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities last June and the 12-day war between Iran and Israel that same month.

He added that his colleagues on the Iranian delegation, titled “Minaab168,” raised “forward-looking initiatives, but the opposing side ultimately failed to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations.” "Minaab 168" was a reference to the deadly strike, reportedly carried out by the U.S. military, on a girls school in Minab, Iran, in February.

Ghalibaf later wrote, “America has understood our logic and principles, and now it’s time for it to decide whether it can earn our trust or not?”

Vice President Vance, who led the U.S. delegation, told reporters in Pakistan that while the 21 hours of talks with Iranian officials were “substantive,” the two sides were unable to reach a peace agreement this weekend.

“The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement, and I think that’s bad news for Iran much more than it’s bad news for the United States of America,” he said. “So, we go back to the United States having not come to an agreement.”

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, accompanied Vance to Islamabad for negotiations.

Esmaeil Baqaei, a spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, posted Saturday on X that negotiations were “intensive.” He added that the two sides discussed the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s nuclear programme, and reparations for the war and the U.S. lifting sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

“The success of this diplomatic process depends on the seriousness and good faith of the opposing side, refraining from excessive demands and unlawful requests, and the acceptance of Iran’s legitimate rights and interests,” he added

The news about the Pakistan-mediated proceedings in Islamabad remained on top headlines of the American print and electronic media.

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