The spokesperson for Iran’s joint military command at Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said Monday that if the security of Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman is threatened, “no port in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman will be safe.” He said vessels affiliated with enemy states will not have the right to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, while other ships will be allowed transit “in accordance with the regulations of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s armed forces,” quoted by Iran’s state television Telegram channel. He added that, “given the continued threats,” Iran will establish “a permanent mechanism” to control the Strait of Hormuz even after the war.
This file photo shows a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Oman’s Musandam province, on April 12, 2026.
Stringer/Reuters
-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X Sunday night that the U.S. and Iran were “inches away” from a memorandum of understanding after talks in Islamabad over the weekend. Araghchi said talks collapsed after Iran “encountered maximalism, shifting goalposts and blockade,” adding “Zero lessons learned.” He wrote that Iran engaged the U.S. “in good faith to end war” in the most intensive talks at the highest level in 47 years, and warned “Good will begets good will. Enmity begets enmity.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi appears on ABC News’ “This Week” on March 1, 2026.
ABC News
President Donald Trump on Sunday night criticized Pope Leo XIV on social media, calling the pontiff “weak” over his appeals for the U.S. war in Iran to end. “Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” Trump wrote, adding, “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.” The Pope has recently decried the war in Iran and urged leaders to seek peace, calling the U.S. military offensive a “delusion of omnipotence” and imploring world leaders to reach a peace agreement.
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow and Emily Chang
U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces will begin a blockade of maritime traffic to and from Iranian ports Monday morning. “U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces will begin implementing a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports on April 13 at 10 a.m. ET, in accordance with the President’s proclamation,” the CENTCOM statement said.
The blockade, CENTCOM said, will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, and CENTCOM forces “will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.” President Trump had posted that the U.S. would “immediately” begin a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz following the collapse of peace negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.
Commercial mariners will be provided additional information before the blockade begins, CENTCOM said, and advised “all mariners” to monitor advisory broadcasts and contact U.S. naval forces when operating in the Gulf of Oman and approaches to the Strait of Hormuz.
Guided-missile destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121) sails in the Arabian Sea during Operation Epic Fury, on March 18, 2026.
U.S. Navy