{"id":429469,"date":"2026-04-12T21:00:06","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T14:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/market-news\/2026\/04\/us-iran-talks-break-down-trump-announces-blockade-of-the-strait-of-hormuz\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T21:00:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T14:00:06","slug":"us-iran-talks-break-down-trump-announces-blockade-of-the-strait-of-hormuz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/market-news\/us-iran-talks-break-down-trump-announces-blockade-of-the-strait-of-hormuz-429469\/","title":{"rendered":"US-Iran talks break down. Trump announces blockade of the Strait of Hormuz"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Late yesterday it appeared that US-Iran negotiations were headed for catastrophe after Vice President JD Vance left Pakistan without a deal but not all hope is yet lost if you read between the lines from the latest statements.<\/p>\n

The most-recent one is from Trump, who said the US will clear mines in the Strait of Hormuz and blockade Iran from shipping through it, much like Iran has done to the rest of the world.<\/p>\n

He wrote:<\/p>\n

So, there you have it, the meeting went well, most points were agreed
\nto, but the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not. Effective
\n immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will
\nbegin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or
\nleave, the Strait of Hormuz. At some point, we will reach an \u201cALL BEING
\nALLOWED TO GO IN, ALL BEING ALLOWED TO GO OUT\u201d basis, but Iran has not
\nallowed that to happen by merely saying, \u201cThere may be a mine out there
\nsomewhere,\u201d that nobody knows about but them. THIS IS WORLD EXTORTION,
\nand Leaders of Countries, especially the United States of America, will
\nnever be extorted. I have also instructed our Navy to seek and interdict
\n every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran. No
\none who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas. We
\n will also begin destroying the mines the Iranians laid in the Straits.
\nAny Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO
\nHELL! Iran knows, better than anyone, how to END this situation which
\nhas already devastated their Country. Their Navy is gone, their Air
\nForce is gone, their Anti Aircraft and Radar are useless, Khomeini, and
\nmost of their \u201cLeaders,\u201d are dead, all because of their Nuclear
\nambition. The Blockade will begin shortly. Other Countries will be
\ninvolved with this Blockade. Iran will not be allowed to profit off this
\n Illegal Act of EXTORTION. They want money and, more importantly, they
\nwant Nuclear. Additionally and, at an appropriate moment, we are fully
\n\u201cLOCKED AND LOADED,\u201d and our Military will finish up the little that is
\nleft of Iran! President DONALD J. TRUMP<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Iran promised to open the Strait of Hormuz, and they knowingly failed to
\n do so. This caused anxiety, dislocation, and pain to many people and
\nCountries throughout the World. They say they put mines in the water,
\neven though all of their Navy, and most of their \u201cmine droppers,\u201d have
\nbeen completely blown up. They may have done so, but what ship owner
\nwould want to take the chance? There is great dishonor and permanent
\nharm to the reputation of Iran, and what\u2019s left of their \u201cLeaders,\u201d but
\nwe are beyond all of that. As they promised, they better begin the
\nprocess of getting this INTERNATIONAL WATERWAY OPEN AND FAST! Every Law
\nin the book is being violated by them. I have been fully debriefed by
\nVice President JD Vance, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner,
\n on the meeting that took place in Islamabad through the kind and very
\ncompetent leadership of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister
\nShehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan. They are very extraordinary men, and
\ncontinuously thank me for saving 30 to 50 million lives in what would
\nhave been a horrendous War with India. I always appreciate hearing that \u2014
\n The amount of Humanity spoken of is incomprehensible.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Then Trump added a short time later:<\/p>\n

The
\nmeeting with Iran began early in the morning, and lasted throughout the
\nnight \u2014 Close to 20 hours. I could go into great detail, and talk about
\nmuch that has been gotten but, there is only one thing that matters \u2014
\nIRAN IS UNWILLING TO GIVE UP ITS NUCLEAR AMBITIONS! In many ways, the
\npoints that were agreed to are better than us continuing our Military
\nOperations to conclusion, but all of those points don\u2019t matter compared
\nto allowing Nuclear Power to be in the hands of such volatile,
\ndifficult, unpredictable people. My three Representatives, as all of
\nthis time went by, became, not surprisingly, very friendly and
\nrespectful of Iran\u2019s Representatives, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, Abbas
\nAraghchi, and Ali Bagheri, but that doesn\u2019t matter because they were
\nvery unyielding as to the single most important issue and, as I have
\nalways said, right from the beginning, and many years ago, IRAN WILL
\nNEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I would highlighted the bolded part but also note that JD Vance left, but Witkoff and Kushner are said to have remained in Pakistan.<\/p>\n

On the Iranian side, parliamentary speaker MB Ghalibaf (who negotiated on Iran’s team) wrote:<\/p>\n

The opposing side ultimately failed to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations. America has understood our logic and principles, and now it’s time for it to decide whether it can earn our trust or not?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is an interesting framing. First he wrote about “this round of negotiations”, which hints there may be another one. More importantly, he said this negotiating is about trust. The implication is that Iran is being asked to accept some part of the promise to end the war on trust, but that will have to be earned. How? <\/p>\n

So far, the best sign is that the bombs aren’t flying and that suggests the two week ceasefire is still in place and that some form of talks will continue. I would argue that’s very fragile and this is a poor outcome but not quite the worst case scenario, and Trump isn’t threatening to blow up Iran’s energy infrastructure. <\/p>\n

All that said, the oil isn’t flowing and the optimism from last week appears to be misplaced. Even the trickle of oil coming through the Strait via Iran is now presumably cut off as well. That will lead to a big reversal in last week’s oil price drop and I’d expect May WTI to open in the range of $10 higher.<\/p>\n

This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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