The Iranian military on April 15 threatened to block shipping in the Red Sea if the U.S. military keeps up its blockade of Iranian ports, as the U.S. command in the region said shipping to the country has been halted.
According to Iran’s state-run PressTV, Iranian Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi said that if the United States keeps up “its illegal action of naval blockade in the region and [creating] insecurity for Iranian commercial ships and oil tankers, this action by the US will be the precursor to violating the ceasefire, and the powerful Iranian armed forces will not allow any exports or imports to continue in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Red Sea.”
If the blockade persists, he said, “Iran will take strong measures to defend its national sovereignty and interests.”
On April 15, the U.S. Central Command said the blockade has “completely halted” Iran’s sea trade after it went into effect on the morning of April 13, affecting the country’s ports.
American service members in the region “remain positioned and ready to act against any vessels seeking to violate the blockade,” Central Command said in an X post.
The blockade was announced after talks between a U.S. delegation and the Iranian regime fell through over the past weekend, although the White House confirmed on April 15 that more negotiations are possible.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the U.S. government has not “formally requested an extension of the ceasefire” with Iran. The ceasefire announced by President Donald Trump on April 7 is currently slated to expire on April 21.
“At this moment, we remain very much engaged, in these negotiations, in these talks,” Leavitt said, noting that there are “discussions” about more talks being held in person.
“But nothing is official until you hear it from us here at the White House,” she said.
She said the possible next round of talks “would very likely” be in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, as they were previously.
Other than the blockade, the Trump administration said it is ramping up economic pressure on Tehran by issuing secondary sanctions on financial institutions that deal with Iran.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on April 15 said the administration has told companies and countries, “If you are buying Iranian oil … if Iranian money is sitting in your banks, we are now willing to apply secondary sanctions, which is a very stern measure.”
“And the Iranians should know that this is going to be the financial equivalent of what we saw in the kinetic activities,” he said.
The warning comes the day after the U.S. Department of the Treasury sent a letter to financial institutions in China, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman, threatening to levy secondary sanctions for doing business with Iran.
On April 15, the Treasury Department sanctioned an Iranian-linked oil smuggling network, the Shamkhani network, that affects dozens of companies and individuals accused of transporting Russian and Iranian oil via front companies.
“The Shamkhani network evades sanctions through a group of seemingly legitimate administrative, consulting, and shipping firms that manage all aspects of the network’s fleet,” the department said. “These firms and their employees maintain a robust public presence to provide a veneer of legitimacy while allowing the network to support the Iranian regime.”
Trump on April 15 also said that he has communicated with the Chinese regime and that Chinese leader Xi Jinping has agreed not to provide weapons to Iran, as reports circulate stating that Beijing has considered transferring arms. China could face an additional 50 percent tariff otherwise, Trump previously warned.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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