President Trump said Wednesday he will keep a naval blockade on Iran in place indefinitely unless the regime agrees to a nuclear deal addressing American concerns, rejecting an Iranian proposal to lift the blockade before nuclear negotiations begin.
“The blockade is somewhat more effective than the bombing. They are choking like a stuffed pig,” Trump told Axios in a 15-minute phone interview. “And it is going to be worse for them. They can’t have a nuclear weapon.”
The stance represents a hardening of Trump’s position in the standoff. Iran had proposed opening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting the blockade as a first step, with nuclear talks to follow later. Trump is refusing that sequence, insisting instead that any relief from the blockade must come only after Iran capitulates on nuclear matters.
Behind the scenes, U.S. Central Command has prepared plans for what it calls a “short and powerful” wave of military strikes against Iranian infrastructure, according to three sources with knowledge of the preparations. The strikes are designed as a pressure tactic to break the negotiating deadlock by demonstrating American resolve before pressing Iran back to the table for talks.
Trump has not yet ordered any military action, the sources said. As of Tuesday night, he remains focused on the blockade as his primary lever of coercion. “They want to settle. They don’t want me to keep the blockade. I don’t want to lift the blockade, because I don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
The President claimed Iran’s oil infrastructure is nearing a breaking point. “Their oil storage and pipelines are getting close to exploding because Iran can’t export oil due to the blockade,” Trump said. Some analysts, however, dispute that Iran faces immediate danger on that front.
Iran responded with veiled threats. A senior Iranian security official told state media PRESS TV that the U.S. blockade “will soon be met with practical and unprecedented action.” The official acknowledged Iran’s armed forces have shown restraint to allow diplomacy a chance, but warned that “patience has limits and that a punishing response is necessary” if the blockade persists.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
