US begins Iran port blockade, Trump vows to destroy Iranian warships that get near

US President Donald Trump said that the US military has begun a blockade of all Iranian ports and coastal areas and Iran responded with threats on ports in the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Trump had vowed earlier to block the Strait of Hormuz entirely.

Trump later suggested he was willing to engage with Iran, saying he had spoken to "the other side." This came after he warned on social media that Iranian warships coming "anywhere close" to the US blockade would be destroyed.

Ceasefire talks between the US and Iran ended Sunday without an agreement, raising questions about what happens when the current two-week truce expires on April 22. The Israeli military, meanwhile, pushed ahead with its offensive in southern Lebanon, engaging in fierce fighting with Hezbollah militants over a strategic town, while the group fires rockets and drones at northern Israel.

At least two tankers approaching the strait Monday turned around soon after the US blockade began, vessel tracker MarineTraffic said in a post on X.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency said the blockade restricted "the entirety of the Iranian coastline, including ports and energy infrastructure." Its notice to mariners said transit through the strait to or from non-Iranian places was not reported to be impeded though ships "may encounter military presence."

"We can't let a country blackmail or extort the world because that's what they're doing," Trump said of Iran at the White House, where he announced the blockade had started.

He suggested the US remains willing to engage with Iran.

"I can tell you that we've been called by the other side," Trump said, adding that "they want to work a deal."

The US military's Central Command announced the blockade would be enforced "against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas" on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.

CENTCOM's decision to allow ships traveling between non-Iranian ports to transit the strait was a step down from Trump's earlier threat to blockade the waterway.

In a social media message, Trump said Iran's navy had been "completely obliterated" but still had "fast attack ships." Trump warned that "if any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED."

US Vice President JD Vance said in an interview with Fox News Channel's "Special Report" that negotiations "did make some progress" in the Islamabad talks on the US insistence on the removal of nuclear material from Iran as well as a mechanism to ensure uranium cannot be enriched in the future.

"They moved in our direction," Vance said in the interview. He said he thought Iranian negotiators were "unable to cut a deal" and needed to get approval from others in Tehran.

Vance also said that US negotiators made clear that Trump "would be very happy if Iran was treated like a normal country, if it had a normal economy," but he did not go into details about what he meant.

"There really is, I think, a grand deal to be had here. But, it's up to the Iranians, I think, to take the next step," Vance said.

The White House was not responsive to queries about whether new talks were being weighed.

"President Trump, Vice President Vance and the negotiating team have made the US red lines very clear. The Iranians desperation for a deal will only increase with President Trump's highly effective Naval blockade now in effect," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

The sides are weighing new in-person negotiations in a bid to reach a deal aimed at ending their six-week war before the ceasefire expires next week, two US officials and person familiar with the development said.

The three said discussions were still underway about a new round of talks, while a diplomat from one of the mediating countries went further to say Tehran and Washington have agreed to it.

All four spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic negotiations.

It's unclear if the same level of delegation would be expected to attend, the diplomat and US officials said.