Industry Odisha Bureau, April 13: Following the reportedly utter failure of the 21-hour-long marathon negotiations in Pakistan’s capital city Islamabad with bête noire Iran on Saturday (April 11), a visibly tormented US President Donald Trump on Sunday (April 12) declared: “Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz,” while contemplating that “At some point, we will reach an ‘ALL BEING ALLOWED TO GO IN, ALL BEING ALLOWED TO GO OUT’ basis.”
Vehemently accusing Iran of “blocking significant shipping activities through the globally critical chokepoint Strait of Hormuz and also extorting tolls”, the irate US President has posted his knee-jerk reactions through his official posts on his X handle named Truth Social.
In sequel to the above-mentioned strong-worded post, the peeved US President posted yet another post frothing and fuming: “Iran has not allowed that to happen by merely saying, ‘There may be a mine out there somewhere,’ that nobody knows about but them. THIS IS WORLD EXTORTION, and Leaders of Countries, especially the United States of America, will never be extorted,”
Trump has also reportedly burst out: “The US Navy has been instructed to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran. No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas. “We will also begin destroying the mines the Iranians laid in the Straits. Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!”
Prior to the futile ‘Islamabad Talks’ mediated by Pakistan between the high-profile US delegation led by incumbent Vice President J.D Vance and their arch rival Iranian counterparts led by Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, literally adamant Iran had reportedly relented to re-open Hormuz temporarily, and had also laid stress on shipping through the substitute routes in a bid to avoid sea mine risks laid by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Such a move had reportedly been initiated by Iran in response to the two-week ceasefire announcement by USA President Trump as well as the ad hoc truce-negotiations that turned futile in Pakistan’s Islamabad on Saturday (April 11).
Notably, Iran on April 9 had reportedly announced “alternative shipping routes” through the critical chokepoint to “evade possible sea mines risks” in the main channel of the Strait of Hormuz.
Laying utmost stress on following the designated alternative shipping routes, the Iranian authorities had reportedly warned that the vessels of other countries passing through the about-to-be temporarily re-opened Strait of Hormuz had to abide by Iran’s suggested shipping routes so that the possible collision with the already laid sea mines could be avoided.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had then reportedly told foreign news agency AFP that the IRGC had officially notified all the ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz that they had to “comply with the principles of maritime safety and to be protected from possible collisions with sea mines”.
Also need to be mentioned here that, the Strait of Hormuz (blocked by Iran since the air strikes by US and Israel on February 28 this year) is a critical chokepoint through which the cargo ships of several countries transport about 20 per cent of global oil needs and essential commodities. The blockage for over a month has reportedly triggered acute global energy crisis.
