A two-week ceasefire in the Iran War entered its sixth day Monday as President Donald Trump moved to impose a U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz after weekend peace talks in Islamabad failed to produce an agreement.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said the blockade would take effect at 10 AM Eastern Time, covering the entirety of Iran’s coastline including ports and oil terminals. The order applies to vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports, regardless of their origin.
China on Monday morning called for unobstructed navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun saying it was in the “common interest of the international community” to keep the waterway secure and open.
Iran’s Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Ghalibaf mocked the blockade threat on Sunday, suggesting it would backfire on American consumers. “Enjoy the current pump figures,” he wrote on X. “With the so-called ‘blockade,’ soon you’ll be nostalgic for $4–$5 gas.” A spokesman for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters said Monday that Iran would implement a permanent system to control the Strait of Hormuz even after the war ends, and that vessels affiliated with Iran’s enemies would continue to be barred from crossing the waterway.
The price of Brent Crude, which had declined on hopes of a peace deal, rose to $100 per barrel on Monday while gas prices continued to rise. AAA reported the national average gas price at $4.13
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said Vice President JD Vance called him from his plane returning from Islamabad to brief him on the collapse of the talks. Netanyahu said the administration is in contact with him daily.
“He called me from his plane on his way back from Islamabad. He reported to me in detail, as this administration does every day, about the development of the negotiations,” Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting. He said Vance made clear that Trump’s central demand was the removal of all enriched material from Iran and a halt to enrichment “for decades.”
“That is their focus, and of course it is also important to us,” Netanyahu said.
Israel continued its occupation and bombing of Lebanon on Monday, with the IDF saying it had surrounded the village of Bint Jbeil. Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed at least 2,055 people since March 2, the country’s Health Ministry said. Israel’s military campaign in the country has been a sticking point in U.S.–Iranian peace talks, since Tehran insists the ceasefire should cover Lebanon.
Apple Maps faced a social media backlash over the weekend after users accused the company of removing towns and villages in southern Lebanon from its platform. Apple said the towns were never featured on the app and that its detailed mapping services had not yet launched in the region. Critics noted that Israeli cities and settlements near the Lebanese border appeared with full detail on the same platform while southern Lebanese towns did not.
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