WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 10,000 American troops are helping enforce the blockade on Iranian ports, and while no ships have yet been boarded, the U.S. military said Thursday that it is warning Iran-linked ships that it could fire warning shots or escalate to other force if they try to outrun the Navy. Thirteen vessels have turned around rather than confront a naval blockade that began earlier this week, Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon. Some Iran-linked or sanctioned vessels that have left the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial waterway for energy shipments, have appeared to halt their movements, turn off their radio transponders or head back toward Iran's coast, shipping data firms say. Vessels that approach the blockade, which is being enforced in Iran’s territorial seas and international waters and not in the Strait of Hormuz, are given a warning, Caine said. “Any ship that would cross the blockade would result in our sailors executing pre-planned tactics designed to bring the force to that ship — if need be, board the ship and take her over,” he said. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said “less than 10% of America’s naval power” is being used to enforce the blockade. The Navy has 16 warships — 11 destroyers, three amphibious assault ships, an aircraft carrier, and a littoral combat ship — in the Middle East out of a battle force of roughly 300 total warships. Also supporting the blockade are refueling ships as well as surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence operations designed to give the Navy the latest information on the vessels it is encountering. Restricting Iran's sea access is a global effort, Caine said, and U.S. military assets in other parts of the world, including in the Pacific, would pursue vessels illegally shipping Iranian oil or trying to provide material support to Tehran. Caine noted the congestion of the area around the blockade, likening it to a crowded parking lot and U.S. destroyers to high-powered sports cars. “There is a lot out there," Caine said. "It is like driving a sports car through a supermarket parking lot on a payday weekend, with thousands of kids in that parking lot, as you attempt to maneuver through there to get to that ship that would attempt to run that blockade.”
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 10,000 American troops are helping enforce the blockade on Iranian ports, and while no ships have yet been boarded, the U.S. military said Thursday that it is warning Iran-linked ships that it could fire warning shots or escalate to other force if they…
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International mediators have proposed a 10-day ceasefire between the United States and Iran, according to a senior Iranian official cited in reports. The measure is described as intended to reduce hostilities and allow renewed talks on a prior interim agreement.
Both sides are assessing next steps in the current regional security situation.
Reports indicate that a US-Iran ceasefire has broken down amid renewed fighting, with the potential impact of mediation efforts by Pakistan, Qatar, and Oman remaining unclear. Earlier diplomatic steps included a June memorandum of understanding between the parties for further negotiations and talks hosted in Geneva in February.
The summary also references Europe’s historical role in diplomacy, including the 1814-15 Congress of Vienna.
Donald Trump stated in a Fox News interview that his representatives had spoken with Iranian officials an hour earlier and that those officials wanted to make a deal to end the conflict, though he noted they had broken prior agreements and expressed uncertainty about whether one would be reached.
He added that people do not want to die and that Iran would need to proceed carefully to avoid further losses. The remarks come amid an ongoing US-Iran conflict that has involved casualties and shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, with some social media users criticizing the repetition of similar statements.
Why the Iran-US ceasefire is falling apart Iran and the US have resumed fighting because they don’t see each other as ‘reliable negotiating partners’, says analyst Ali Vaez. Neither Iran nor the United States seems able to deliver a “knockout blow at an acceptable price” to the other side, and both know “they have no choice other than engaging in diplomacy”, but they’re not ready to make uncomfortable concessions, argues Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project at International Crisis Group.
Vaez tells host Steve Clemons that Tehran and Washington are trying to “enforce their own interpretation” of the ceasefire agreement they signed last month. President Trump has become “frustrated” with diplomacy because he’s not seeing “the kind of quick results that he likes to see”, Vaez says.