Summary

The U.S. blockade of Iranian ports has proven "very profitable," President Donald Trump said Friday at his rally in Florida, but new reports have detailed just how hard Iran's finances have been hit as a result of the three-week operation. “We … land on top of it and we took over the ship. We took over the cargo, took over the oil. It’s a very profitable business,” Trump told his supporters, adding that the U.S. Navy is acting "like pirates" to enforce the blockade. In that time, U.S. forces have redirected 48 vessels back to port "to ensure compliance with the blockade," U.S. Central Command (CENTCOMM) announced on Saturday in a post on X - an increase of three from just one day earlier. But the real value is in how much the blockade has cost Iran, which The Hill - citing a Pentagon official familiar with assessments - has reported as totaling around $4.8 billion lost in oil revenue during the operation. “The United States’ blockade in the Strait of Hormuz is operating with full force and delivering the decisive impact we intended," Acting Pentagon Press Secretary Joel Valdez said Friday in a post on X. "We are inflicting a devastating blow to the Iranian regime’s ability to fund terrorism and regional destabilization. Our Armed Forces in the region will continue to maintain this unrelenting pressure," Valdez added. This occurs as talks between the U.S. and Iran appear to have stalled, with Trump telling reporters on Friday that he was not satisfied with the latest proposal from Iranian negotiators. He acknowledged that Iran had made progress in recent talks, but argued that internal divisions within its leadership and the terms of the offer made it unacceptable. And Iran has warned of regionwide retaliation to U.S. strikes following reports that Washington was considering a "final blow" against the Islamic Republic, with reports that the U.S. military has presented Trump with new options against Iran to open up the Strait of Hormuz.