Addis Abeba — The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has announced it will begin enforcing a maritime blockade on all traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports starting April 13 at 10:00 a.m. ET, in line with a directive issued by U.S. President Donald Trump.

In a statement released an hour ago, #CENTCOM said the blockade would be applied “impartially” to vessels of all nations operating in and out of Iranian ports and coastal areas, including along the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

The command, however, said U.S. forces would not interfere with freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, provided they are traveling to or from non-Iranian ports.

CENTCOM added that additional guidance will be issued to commercial shipping operators through formal maritime notices ahead of the blockade’s implementation. Mariners have been advised to monitor official “Notice to Mariners” broadcasts and maintain communication with U.S. naval forces via bridge-to-bridge channel 16 while operating in the Gulf of Oman and approaches to the Strait of Hormuz.

The announcement follows tensions between Washington and Tehran after weekend talks held in Islamabad ended without agreement.

Hours earlier, President Trump warned that the United States could begin “blockading” ships entering or leaving the Strait of Hormuz. In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said U.S. forces would “immediately begin the process of blockading any and all ships” attempting to transit the waterway.

“At some point, we will reach an ‘all being allowed to go in, all being allowed to go out’ basis, but Iran has not allowed that to happen,” he wrote.

The President added that he had instructed the U.S. Navy to “seek and interdict every vessel in international waters that has paid a toll to Iran,” warning that “no one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas.”.

Source:-AS