President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. Navy to blockade the Strait of Hormuz after negotiations between the United States and Iran failed to end the war. He is right to do so, and Tehran would be wise to comply.
Trump’s order, on April 12, was part of a response to the Islamic Republic negotiating in bad faith. On April 7, Trump announced that Washington and Tehran had agreed to a two-week ceasefire. That move occurred after the president threatened to bomb every power plant and bridge in Iran. He then sent Vice President JD Vance to negotiate with Iran’s leadership in Islamabad, Pakistan.
According to Trump’s Truth Social post, negotiations were going “well” and “most points were agreed to,” but the “only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not.” This is the crux of the issue. The world’s leading sponsor of terrorism insists on its right to build nuclear weapons, and it has refused to end its pursuit of them. This remains unchanged despite the damage the U.S. and Israel have inflicted on the regime and its ability to wage war.
Trump has always been clear that Iran must not be allowed to have nuclear weapons. But the Islamic Republic conflates its own legitimacy with being a nuclear power.
Tehran’s monomania about nuclear weapons is a costly obsession in a part of the world with no shortage of wars and bloodshed. The wars and bloodshed, nevertheless, are an incentive to acquire nuclear weapons. Even before Operation Epic Fury, Iran’s nuclear program was thought to have cost the country astronomical sums exceeding $500 billion, but now the costs have risen sharply.
Several U.S. administrations have tried to compel Iran to drop its nuclear dreams, although President Barack Obama’s Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action did the opposite by creating a framework under which Iran would eventually obtain nuclear weapons with Western sanction because of the deal’s sunset clauses and weak verification regime.
In June 2025, the Trump administration launched Operation Midnight Hammer, a bombing mission that severely degraded Iran’s nuclear program. Eight months later, Epic Fury has diminished Iran’s ability to project power beyond its borders and has prevented Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons at least into the medium term.
But although Tehran has lost most of its senior leaders and its military potency, it has not given up its nuclear ambitions. Closing the Strait of Hormuz is the most potent card in Tehran’s hand, for it holds the world’s economy to ransom. Closing the strait during peace talks was a clear indication of bad faith.
Trump’s reciprocal blockade is a serious move and will be costly at least in the short term. The U.S. is a net exporter of oil and scarcely uses the strait. But many U.S. allies in Europe, Asia, and elsewhere rely on the free passage of oil, fuel, and other goods through the narrow seaway. A blockade is an escalation, but it signals that America will not be played for a sap and will take additional steps, including renewed military strikes on infrastructure, if Iran does not start being reasonable.
NO ASYLUM FOR AMERICA’S ENEMIES
Iran is, as always, calculating that it can play for time and outlast its nemesis. We hope that Trump makes sure this is a bad bet.
He has shown that he isn’t like previous presidents. He’s shown that he’s comfortable using American military power to achieve success where previous presidents have failed.