The US military continues to monitor and patrol regional waters as part of an ongoing blockade on ships passing through Iranian ports, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Thursday.
“US service members continue to monitor and patrol regional waters in support of US blockade on ships entering or exiting Iranian ports,” CENTCOM said.
US President Donald Trump ordered the blockade to go into effect on Monday morning following failed talks to reach a deal with Iran over the weekend.
The talks were held in Pakistan, but US negotiators said Tehran refused to commit to not developing a nuclear weapon. Iran accused the US team of shifting its goals and demands throughout.
No ships made it past US forces during the first 48 hours of the American blockade on Iranian ports, the US military said on Wednesday.
CENTCOM chief Adm. Brad Cooper Cooper on Tuesday said that US forces had completely halted economic trade going into and out of Iran by sea, which he said fueled 90 percent of Iran’s economy.
The US has warned it could add secondary sanctions on buyers of Iranian oil in an apparent effort to gain leverage ahead of more negotiations, just weeks after Washington loosened the enforcement of some Iran energy sanctions.
Iran could consider allowing ships to sail freely through the Omani side of the Strait of Hormuz without risk of attack as part of proposals it has offered in negotiations with the US, providing a deal is clinched to prevent renewed conflict, a source briefed by Tehran said.
The US blockade is expected to reduce Iran’s crude exports, although the OPEC producer could sustain its current production at 3.5 million barrels per day (bpd) for weeks by storing oil in onshore tanks, analysts say.
Iran exported 1.84 million bpd of crude in March and has shipped 1.71 million bpd thus far in April, compared with an average of 1.68 million bpd in 2025, according to Kpler data.
