The blockade of all Iranian ports has begun, as previously announced by US President Donald Trump.
The Guardian, citing US Central Command (Centcom), reported that the blockade of all Iranian ports and coastal areas in the Persian Gulf was implemented at 10 am (Eastern Time) on Monday, i.e. 5:30 pm local time in Iran. As a result, the military operation has already begun as scheduled.
Earlier, warnings were issued to seafarers and the UK's Maritime Trade Operations Organisation.
The message said the blockade would apply to all types of shipping, regardless of flag.
The UK's Maritime Trade Operations also said that normal transit passage through the Strait of Hormuz to destinations outside Iran is not expected to be directly affected by the restrictions.
However, it warned that ships entering such areas could face a military presence.
Although President Donald Trump has previously said he doesn't care whether Iran returns to the talks or not.
Trump made the remarks after Pakistan's talks failed to reach an agreement.
"I don't care whether they (Iran) return or not. I don't have a problem with it if they don't return," Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland after returning from Florida.
Talks between the United States and Iran to end the war have failed to reach an agreement, putting a fragile two-week ceasefire in jeopardy.
The talks, which lasted from Saturday to early Sunday morning in Islamabad, were the first direct US-Iranian meeting in more than a decade and the highest-level talks since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. After the talks collapsed, the US military said it would begin a blockade of all Iranian ports starting Monday.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, a key member of the Iranian delegation participating in the talks, said in a post on X on Monday that Tehran was only "inches away" from an agreement with Washington during the talks in Islamabad.
Sylhetview24.com/SZ
