US President Donald Trump on Sunday imposed a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, sparking questions on the state of the war after the failure of the 21-hour ceasefire talks between Washington and Tehran at Islamabad that began on Saturday.
Notably, the two-week ceasefire was supposed to last until April 22, and the talks were meant to develop it into lasting peace.
Trump claimed that while the two sides had "agreed to" most points, the nuclear issue ultimately caused it to fail. Iran, on the other hand, has claimed that the other side had made excessive demands, and had raised issues over sanctions and the Lebanon bombings.
According to the terms of the new blockade on the strait, "effective immediately", the US Navy has been tasked with blocking all vessels from trying to exit or enter the Strait of Hormuz, Trump explained, adding that vessels that had paid Iran's alleged toll for safe passage would face legal action.
Trump claimed that certain other countries were also going to be involved in the blockade, but did not name them.
"At some point, we will reach an 'ALL BEING ALLOWED TO GO IN, ALL BEING ALLOWED TO GO OUT' basis," he wrote in a Truth Social post.
He also noted that the US Navy would "begin" de-mining the strait, and warned the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from attacking vessels engaged in this operation.
This is the latest development in the course of the war in the Gulf, which has crossed 40 days, and has majorly impacted global trade and energy flows.
Although he had earlier promised fresh strikes on Iran if the peace talks were to fail, his recent statements do not clearly state if the US would continue military strikes on Iran.
"Additionally and, at an appropriate moment, we are fully 'LOCKED AND LOADED', and our Military will finish up the little that is left of Iran!" Trump wrote in one of his latest posts, piling on the same explosive rhetoric about Iran allegedly being depleted of its leaders and resources.
Israel's response
Israel, on the other hand, has already begun preparations for resuming attacks on Israel, even as it furiously attacks Lebanon.
Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), has instructed the military to move to a “heightened state of readiness” for war with Iran, as per a Ynet report.
It added that the IDF was already preparing "structured combat procedures" similar to the ones used in previous operations, such as Am Kalavi and Operation Lion's Roar, citing military sources.