Middle East
USS Abraham Lincoln continues operations in the Arabian Sea, including enforcement of the US blockade against Iran, on May 12, 2026. Photo: CENTCOM/X
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - US forces have redirected 67 vessels leaving or entering Iranian ports through the Strait of Hormuz, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) reported on Wednesday, noting that four others were “disabled” and that the maritime blockade on Iran remains “in full effect.”
US forces have redirected 67 vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports through the Strait of Hormuz, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Wednesday, noting that four others were “disabled” and that the maritime blockade on Iran remains “in full effect.”
“Four weeks ago, CENTCOM began implementing the blockade against ships entering and exiting Iran’s ports,” the Command said in a post on X, adding that “as of today, American forces have redirected 67 commercial vessels, allowed 15 carrying humanitarian aid to pass, and disabled four to ensure compliance.”
CENTCOM added that its forces “ensured that two commercial vessels turned around to comply with the blockade” earlier this week, stressing that “U.S. enforcement remains in full effect.”
The US and Israel launched a wide scale aerial campaign against Iran on February 28, striking more than 17,000 sites across the country over six weeks of hostilities before the sides agreed to a Pakistan-mediated ceasefire on April 8. The truce halted fighting for two weeks and paved the way for negotiations.
While the first round of talks concluded without a final agreement on April 11, a second round has yet to take place, with a comprehensive resolution to the conflict still pending.
In parallel with the diplomatic efforts, Iran and the US have engaged in tit-for-tat maritime measures. Tehran has tightened its grip on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, while Washington initiated a maritime blockade on Iranian ports on April 13.
Amid the maritime escalation, US President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday that “the ceasefire is on massive life support, where the doctor walks in and says, 'Sir, your loved one has approximately a one percent chance of living.”
A day earlier, Trump had rejected Iran’s response to a US proposal aimed at ending months of conflict. “I have just read the response from Iran’s so-called ‘Representatives.’ I don’t like it - TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
For his part, Tehran’s parliament speaker and chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on Monday, that the Iranian military is ready to deliver a “decisive response” to any attack on the country.
“Our armed forces are ready to deliver a decisive response to any aggression,” Ghalibaf said in a post on X, adding that “wrong strategies and wrong decisions will always lead to the wrong outcome, something the whole world has already learned.”
“We are prepared for every option. They will be surprised,” the senior Iranian official noted.
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