Foreign Affairs: The United States has expanded its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, telling its military to search for ships with ties to Iran around the world, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, said.
According to RT on April 17, 2026, Washington announced that it would stop ships from entering Iranian ports on Monday after talks with Tehran’s representatives in Pakistan failed. Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz to the US and its allies following a US-Israeli attack on the country on February 28. The US blockade of the key waterway, which accounts for about 20% of international crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade, has further strained the global economy, causing oil and gas prices to rise sharply.
Caine told reporters on Friday that US forces outside the Persian Gulf would also “pursue Iranian-flagged vessels or any vessels attempting to provide material support to Iran.”
The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, referring to operations in the Pacific, said the US would pursue vessels that left Iranian ports before the blockade began, according to the AP.
Translation: Nay Tola
