{"id":318522,"date":"2026-04-14T14:42:53","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T09:12:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=318522"},"modified":"2026-04-14T14:42:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T09:12:53","slug":"trumps-blockade-of-the-strait-of-hormuz-is-underway-but-is-it-open-or-closed-news-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/14\/trumps-blockade-of-the-strait-of-hormuz-is-underway-but-is-it-open-or-closed-news-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump&#8217;s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is underway &#8211; but is it open or closed? | News World"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.metro.co.uk\/i\/html_modules\/2026\/04_APR\/260413_STRAIT_HORMUZ_BLOCKADE_MAP_ONLINE\/index.html\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100\" class=\"metro-iframe iframe-autoheight \" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" name=\"69de051457a42\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Donald Trump said the American military has begun a blockade\u00a0of Iranian ports to force Iran to open up the Strait of Hormuz and accept a deal.<\/p>\n<p>Iran responded with threats on all ports within the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, aiming at US-allied countries.<\/p>\n<p>Yesterday evening, the President said the blockade began yesterday at 10 am Washington, D.C. time.<\/p>\n<p>But Iran and the US seem like at odds as as to if the Strait of Hormuz is definitely open again under the ceasefire agreement.<\/p>\n<p>Minutes before the scheduled start of the\u00a0blockade, the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency issued a notice to mariners that said the restrictions included \u2018the whole thing of the Iranian coastline, including ports and energy infrastructure\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>It added that transit through the strait \u2018to or from non-Iranian destinations shouldn&#8217;t be reported to be impeded by these measures\u2019, but added that ships \u2018may encounter military presence\u2019 within the strait.<\/p>\n<div class=\"factbox\" data-ico=\"factbox_article\" data-track-module=\"factbox_article\">\n<h2 class=\"factbox-title\">\n\t\t\t\tJoin for all of the newest stories\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<div class=\"factbox-content\">\n<p>Start your day informed with Metro&#8217;s <strong>News Updates<\/strong> newsletter or get <strong>Breaking News <\/strong>alerts the moment it happens. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Iran\u2019s effective closure of the strait, through which 20% of traded oil passes in peacetime, has sent oil prices skyrocketing, pushing up the price of petrol, food and other basic goods far beyond the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p>Some analysts are doubtful that the US can restore normal shipping through force alone, and it shouldn&#8217;t be clear how a\u00a0blockade\u00a0would work or what the hazards is likely to be to US forces.<\/p>\n<p>The US military\u2019s Central Command announced that the\u00a0blockade\u00a0could be enforced \u2018against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas\u2019.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is the Strait of Hormuz open?<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t\t<\/div><figcaption>Two vessels passed safely before the Strait was apparently shut again (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It depends upon who you ask.<\/p>\n<p>Dr Bamo Nouri, senior lecturer in International Relations on the University of West London, told\u00a0<strong>Metro<\/strong> that what\u2019s happening with the Strait is contradictory, but each things are true without delay.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It&#8217;s technically \u2018open\u2019 but not freely operating. The US presents it as open to reassure markets, while Iran is effectively controlling access \u2013 allowing passage, but under conditions, monitoring, and implicit threats against non-compliant vessels,\u2019 he explained.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Which means shipping can move, but with heightened risk, reduced traffic, and rising costs. In practice, Iran doesn\u2019t need to completely close the strait to exert leverage.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018By making it uncertain, conditional, and potentially expensive, it may still disrupt global energy flows and signal its strategic power, which is why markets remain tense despite the ceasefire.\u2019<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How does Iran control the Strait of Hormuz?<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.metro.co.uk\/i\/html_modules\/2026\/04_APR\/260413_US_Assets_Hormuz\/index.html\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100\" class=\"metro-iframe iframe-autoheight \" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" name=\"69de051457d5d\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>A number of aspects go into how Iran controls the vital waterway, where tankers must sail through Hormuz, a 60-mile-wide a part of the Persian Gulf, which has been at the center of regional tensions for many years.<\/p>\n<p>At its narrowest point, the Strait is just 24 miles across, making it easy for Iran to focus on vessels passing by without firing from a ship. As a substitute, they&#8217;ll fire anti-ship missiles from their coastline.<\/p>\n<p>Together with the geography allowing Iran to exert control on the waterway, additionally they use unique methods of weaponry.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019ve also laced the water with mines and use low-cost drones to attack vessels that pass without permission.<\/p>\n<p>The UN allows countries to exercise control of their territorial seas as much as 13.8 miles from their coastlines.<\/p>\n<p>Some portions of the Strait lie entirely in Iran and\u00a0Oman\u2019s territorial waters, meaning they&#8217;re allowed to \u2018defend\u2019 their countries if needed. <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What happened to the ceasefire agreement?<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"430\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_292412950-0c0a.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-27906733\" alt=\"US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on April 8, 2026. The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire on April 7 barely an hour before President Donald Trump's deadline to obliterate the country, triggering global relief alongside apprehension. Tehran has agreed to temporarily reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which much of the world's oil, gas and fertiliser passes, easing concerns for the battered global economy. (Photo by Mandel NGAN \/ AFP via Getty Images)\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\">\t<\/div><figcaption>Pete Hegseth told reporters yesterday that the Strait was reopened (Picture: AFP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As of now, US-Iran negotiations in Pakistan are still ongoing, so the ceasefire remains to be technically on, but Iran and the US appear to have differing definitions of what this implies.<\/p>\n<p>When Iran, Israel and the USA agreed on a two-week ceasefire, one in every of the conditions all of them agreed on was the opening of the Strait of Hormuz for maritime traffic. <\/p>\n<p>The blockade has now called all of this into query.<\/p>\n<p>The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) released the coordinates of where it indicates it has planted underwater explosives within the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n<p>Tehran claims the map provides a secure corridor for oil tankers using the passage, where normally around 20% of the world\u2019s oil passes day-after-day.<\/p>\n<p>Trump declared the passage was officially open last week, but it surely was closed again after just two tankers made it through.<\/p>\n<p>Though the ceasefire requires the free reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, reports have suggested Iran desired to put a toll of as much as\u00a0$1 million on each ship.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong><strong><strong>Get in contact with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>For more stories like this, <\/strong><strong>check our news page<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"><\/use><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: Pope Leo is taking over Donald Trump\u2019s God complex<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"><\/use><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: Iran war \u2018will knock \u00a3480 off UK household incomes by the tip of the 12 months\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"><\/use><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: Why Orban\u2019s defeat spells trouble for Trump and MAGA<\/span><\/p>\n<section id=\"share-buttons-bottom\" class=\"share-buttons share-buttons-bottom\"><a class=\"metro-button share-bar-comments\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span><svg><title>Comment now<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#social-comment\" href=\"#social-comment\"><\/use><\/svg><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-comments__label\">Comments<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span><svg><title>Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#social-preferred-source\" href=\"#social-preferred-source\"><\/use><\/svg><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-preferred-source__label\">Add as preferred source<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/section>\n<div class=\"newsletter-end-card accent--news\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-end-card__inner\">\n<h4>News Updates<\/h4>\n<p>Stay on top of the headlines with each day email updates.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Donald Trump said the American military has begun a blockade\u00a0of Iranian ports to force Iran to open up the Strait of Hormuz and accept a deal. Iran responded with threats on all ports within the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, aiming at US-allied countries. Yesterday evening, the President said the blockade began yesterday [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":318523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20691],"tags":[32927,18079,35584,395,1574,21282,8711,15636,813],"class_list":["post-318522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-blockade","tag-closed","tag-hormuz","tag-news","tag-open","tag-strait","tag-trumps","tag-underway","tag-world"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=318522"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":318525,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318522\/revisions\/318525"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/318523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=318522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=318522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=318522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}