Trump Considers Air Strikes on Iran to Bypass US Blockade of Strait of Hormuz

JAKARTA - US President Donald Trump is considering new air strikes against Iran to smooth the way for US military operations to blockade the Strait of Hormuz.

Citing the Wall Street Journal on Monday, April 13, the possibility of this attack came after 21 hours of US-Iranian peace talks in Pakistan since Saturday, April 11, to open efforts to extend the two-week ceasefire agreement to a permanent deadlock.

Since then, Trump announced the US Navy would stop all ships trying to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz.

The Telegraph reported that options being considered by the Trump administration include full-scale bombing or limited military strikes against Iranian infrastructure to support the US blockade of strategic global energy routes in the Gulf or Middle East.

Previously in an interview with Fox News, Trump had also hinted at further attacks targeting civilian infrastructure in the form of water treatment plants in Iran.

"I don't want to do it, but it's their water, their desalination plants, their power plants, which are very easy to attack," Trump said.

A two-week ceasefire agreement agreed last week between the US-Israel and Iran was followed up with peace talks in Islamabad with Pakistan as a negotiator.

However, the US delegation in Islamabad claimed that Iran's refusal to give up its rights to the nuclear program was an obstacle.

On Monday, April 13 local time, Trump announced through the Truth Social social media account that the US operation to blockade the Strait of Hormuz would begin at 10 am Middle Eastern time or 3 pm BST.