CENTCOM Claims US Naval Blockade Disrupts Iran's Maritime Trade in 36 Hours

JAKARTA - The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) stated that US forces had completely stopped maritime trade from and to Iran in less than 36 hours since the official blockade was imposed.

The statement was made by CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper on Tuesday, April 14, or a day after the US began blocking all maritime traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports.

This policy applies to ships from any country that pass through the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman with the aim of Iranian ports.

However, Cooper stressed that US forces would still not hinder the freedom of navigation of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz to or from non-Iranian ports.

"Our forces will not interfere with the freedom of navigation for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz with the aim of other than Iranian ports," he said, quoted by Anadolu, Wednesday, April 15.

The blockade was taken after direct negotiations between the United States and Iran in Islamabad, Pakistan, last weekend failed to reach an agreement to end the war that has been going on since February 28.

In the first 24 hours of the blockade, CENTCOM had previously claimed that not a single ship had managed to pass through the blockade. A total of six merchant ships were said to have complied with US forces' instructions to turn around and return to Iranian ports in the Gulf of Oman.

Meanwhile, a report by The Wall Street Journal said the US Navy had intercepted at least eight oil tankers heading to or leaving Iranian ports since operations began.

The blockade is considered a significant escalation in the Middle East region because it has the potential to hit Iran's energy export routes while increasing geopolitical tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most vital oil trade routes in the world.