Trump Orders Officials to Prepare for Extended Iran Blockade
The directive emerged from a series of recent high-level consultations, including a Monday session with senior security officials at the White House, where Trump chose to maintain relentless economic and energy pressure on Tehran by cutting off maritime traffic to and from Iranian ports.
According to officials cited by The Wall Street Journal, the president concluded that the blockade — characterized as "a high-risk bid" to force Tehran's nuclear capitulation — posed fewer dangers than the two alternatives on the table: resuming aerial bombardment or withdrawing from the conflict altogether.
Those same officials told the newspaper that Trump remains firmly opposed to softening his core demand: that Iran, at a bare minimum, formally pledges to halt its nuclear enrichment program for 20 years, with binding restrictions extending beyond that period.
Trump reportedly conveyed to aides that Iran's three-stage proposal — which sought to reopen the Strait of Hormuz while deferring nuclear negotiations to a later stage — was evidence that Tehran was not engaging in good faith at the bargaining table.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly defended the administration's posture, stating that Washington had achieved its military goals and that "thanks to the successful blockade of Iranian ports, the United States has maximum leverage over the regime" during ongoing efforts to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Yet the prolonged standoff is not without significant domestic costs. The Wall Street Journal noted that sustaining the blockade extends a conflict that has stoked gasoline price increases, eroded Trump's approval ratings, and further dimmed the electoral outlook for Republicans heading into the midterm elections. The blockade has also reduced transit volumes through the Strait of Hormuz to their lowest level since U.S. and Israeli forces launched sweeping strikes against Iran on February 28.
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