A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
President Trump is turning the screws on Iran.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The U.S. Navy to impose a naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz this morning. The move comes after U.S.-Iran peace talks failed to produce a breakthrough over the weekend. In a few minutes, we'll talk about all this with a retired Navy admiral. But first, here's the latest information.
MARTÍNEZ: For more, we're joined by NPR national security correspondent Greg Myre. Greg, did the president explain how exactly this blockade would work?
GREG MYRE, BYLINE: Yeah. The president didn't really provide many details but said it won't take long for the U.S. to, quote, "clean out" the strait. Now, the U.S. military's Central Command said the blockade against ships going to or from Iran took effect at 10 a.m. Monday Eastern time. Trump first announced the blockade in a Truth Social post yesterday, then spoke about it in an interview on Fox News.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We're putting on a complete blockade. And we're not going to let Iran make money on selling oil to people that they like and not people that they don't like, or whatever it is.
MYRE: So Iran is benefiting in several ways by keeping the strait mostly closed. It's clearly frustrating Trump. It's driving up world oil prices, and Iran also makes money on the limited amount of oil that's getting through. Some of it is believed to be Iranian oil, and Iran also charges foreign ships up to $2 million to pass through the strait.
MARTÍNEZ: OK. Now, does the United States have enough naval forces in place to actually enforce this blockade?
MYRE: You know, apparently so. The U.S. does have a sizable Navy presence. There's somewhere around 15 ships in the region, including one aircraft carrier group, with another one nearby. Iran is believed to have placed mines in the strait, and a U.S. official who's not authorized to speak publicly told NPR's Tom Bowman that minesweepers will also be used. Only a few ships go through the strait now on most days. It's way down from the more than hundred ships a day before the war. So the U.S. Navy can certainly keep track of a few massive, slow-moving, unarmed commercial ships, but there are still lots of unknowns. You know, will any ship try to break a U.S. blockade? And if so, how will the U.S. respond? The main threat will be from Iran. The country's Revolutionary Guard said if a warship approaches the strait, it would be viewed as a ceasefire violation, and Iran would deliver a severe response.
MARTÍNEZ: So because of all this, is it fair to suggest that Trump's decision here means that the U.S.-Iran peace talks in Pakistan did not go well?
MYRE: Yeah. I mean, a blockade certainly doesn't improve the atmosphere for peace talks. Trump seems to be betting that increased pressure will force Iran to make concessions, but Iran seems to feel it's in a pretty strong negotiating position. It withstood weeks of heavy U.S. and Israeli bombing. Those airstrikes didn't force Iran to reopen the strait, so why would a U.S. blockade? Vice President JD Vance led that U.S. delegation that met Iran for 21 hours on Saturday and into Sunday morning in Islamabad, Pakistan. But Vance said afterward that Iran chose, quote, "not to accept our terms." No word yet on if there will be additional talks.
MARTÍNEZ: Considering, Greg, that there appears to be no clear breakthrough in sight, what kind of political risk is this for President Trump?
MYRE: Yeah. Trump's in a bind. He wants to end the war and reopen the strait, but how? He'd clearly like to do it quickly through negotiations. But he said yesterday, quote, "I want everything. I don't want 90%. I don't want 95%. I told them I want everything." And, of course, Iran is still demanding concessions. So his other option would be to restart the war, but a military escalation doesn't come with a guarantee of success.
MARTÍNEZ: That's NPR's Greg Myre. Greg, thanks a lot.
MYRE: Sure thing, A. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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