President Donald Trump initiated a US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz to increase pressure on Tehran, while both nations consider resuming talks for a more lasting ceasefire.

The blockade cuts off vessels transiting to and from Iranian ports and coastal areas, raising the risk of further disruption to global energy flows, The Caspian Post reports, citing foreign media.

But even amid that latest escalation, the US and Iran are discussing another round of negotiations after talks in Islamabad over the weekend ended without a deal, according to people familiar with the matter. The goal is to hold fresh talks before a two-week ceasefire announced April 7 expires next week, they said.

Saudi Arabia, a key US partner, is pushing Washington to halt the blockade, fearing it could prompt Tehran to escalate tensions and disrupt other regional shipping routes, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Arab officials it did not name.

Testing Blockade

A vessel under US sanctions and linked to China is making its way through the Strait of Hormuz, testing the blockade. The Rich Starry, a medium-range tanker earlier known as Full Star, is trying for the second time in less than 24 hours to exit the waterway.

Disruptions in the strait pose risks for China, which remains Iran’s largest oil customer and a key trade partner. Beijing has called for an immediate ceasefire, warning that a blockade threatens global trade.

Trump said Iran had reached out to his administration. “We’ve been called this morning by the right people, and they want to work a deal,” he told reporters at the White House, without elaborating.

The president repeated claims that negotiations had failed due to Iran’s insistence on maintaining a nuclear program. Trump said any deal would require Iran to abandon its atomic ambitions.

Vice President JD Vance, who led the US delegation in the first round of talks, left the next step to Tehran. “We did make some progress in the negotiation,” he said in a Monday interview on Fox News, adding that the talks helped clarify red lines. Asked about another meeting, Vance said the question was “best put to the Iranians, because the ball really is in their court.”

The New York Times, citing people familiar with the talks, reported, that the US proposed a 20-year suspension of nuclear activity, while Iran countered with a plan to halt it for up to five years, similar to an offer made in February.

Iran blamed the collapse of talks over the weekend on the US, but left the door open for more negotiations. President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran was prepared to continue discussions within a framework of international law, according to a statement on a government news portal.

Oil dropped on signs Washington and Tehran may revive talks, with Brent down about 1.5% to $97.85 a barrel. Asian stocks advanced in Tuesday morning trade.

Fragile Ceasefire

Trump’s blockade will test the durability of a fragile ceasefire with Iran and intensify a global energy crisis in a six-week war that’s seen thousands of deaths across the region. It marks the latest move by the US president to strongarm Iran into easing its own chokehold over the strait.

“We can’t let a country blackmail or extort the world,” Trump said.

Iran warned it would target ports across the Persian Gulf if its own shipping hubs are threatened, raising the risk of a wider confrontation. Its armed forces said security in the region must be “either for everyone or for no one,” calling any US move to block the strait “an act of piracy,” according to the state-run IRIB News.

Trump has warned Iran against charging fees for vessels to transit the strait. Vance sidestepped a question about whether that would be a red line for Iran in talks, saying that “we need to see the Strait of Hormuz fully open.”

Trump had warned shortly after the deadline passed that the US would target Iranian ships, using the same tactics it did against alleged drug-running boats in the Caribbean Sea in recent months.

“What we have not hit are their small number of, what they call, ‘fast attack ships,’ because we did not consider them much of a threat. Warning: If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED, using the same system of kill that we use against the drug dealers on boats at Sea,” Trump said in a social-media post.

Still, Trump looked to downplay concerns around the further potential shock to global energy markets, claiming in a separate post that 34 ships had transited the strait on Sunday, “by far the highest number since this foolish closure began.” Bloomberg reported earlier that 19 vessels passed through the waterway in either direction on Sunday.

The US has warned it will intercept or divert vessels leaving Iran, while allowing neutral ships to pass, though they may be searched for contraband. The blockade will be enforced against vessels entering or departing Iranian ports, US Central Command said.

While the US and Israel have paused strikes on Iran, Israel continues its campaign in Lebanon against Hezbollah. The conflict remains a key sticking point in broader ceasefire negotiations, with talks between Israel and Lebanon set for Tuesday in Washington.