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President Donald Trump has reportedly reinstated the US naval blockade on Iranian ports and warned that power plants and bridges could be targeted unless Tehran returns to negotiations. The move follows renewed Iranian attacks on commercial shipping and Gulf countries as the temporary ceasefire continues to collapse.
US President Donald Trump has reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports and issued a direct warning to Tehran: return to the negotiating table or face a wider American military campaign.
According to the report, Trump said US strikes would intensify over the coming days and could expand to Iranian power plants and bridges next week. He said those targets could be spared if Iran agrees to negotiate.
“You better make a deal,” Trump said, while stressing that US forces were taking precautions to protect civilians.
At least 19 American warships are reportedly operating in the Arabian Sea, including two aircraft carriers and an amphibious assault ship carrying more than 1,000 Marines. US Central Command also said hundreds of American military aircraft were operating across the Middle East.
Before the blockade was restored, US forces carried out a seven-hour wave of strikes against Iranian missile and drone sites, naval assets and coastal defense systems.
Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, said the operation was intended to weaken Iran’s ability to threaten commercial vessels and civilian crews.
US officials said Iran deliberately attacked seven commercial ships during the previous week, leaving nearly a dozen civilian crew members dead, wounded or missing.
Iranian forces were also accused of launching missiles and drones toward neighboring countries. Jordan said it intercepted three Iranian missiles, while damage and injuries were reported following attacks connected to Kuwait and other Gulf locations.
Iranian officials claimed attacks against US positions in Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait. Those claims were not independently confirmed in the supplied report.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed until what it calls American aggression ends. Tehran argues that it has authority over traffic through the strategic waterway.
The United States rejects that position and maintains that international shipping must be allowed to pass freely. Traffic through the strait was reportedly operating at roughly 10 percent of prewar levels.
Trump said the United States was closely monitoring Iranian nuclear facilities, including deeply buried and previously damaged sites. He indicated that the US could strike those locations if necessary.
Although Trump said America’s main war objectives had already been achieved, questions remain over Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium and the security of international shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump appeared to send mixed signals about diplomacy, first saying he no longer wanted negotiations and then acknowledging that American officials had recently spoken with Iranian representatives.
Regional mediators, reportedly led by Pakistan, are continuing efforts to restore the ceasefire and bring Washington and Tehran back to the negotiating table.
Trump also abandoned a proposed 20 percent fee on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz after discussions with Gulf leaders. He said those governments instead offered to invest billions of dollars in the United States.
The president said he preferred increased Gulf investment and opposed allowing any country to impose tolls on the strategic waterway.
The renewed blockade and expanding American military presence send a clear message: Iran cannot attack civilian shipping, threaten neighboring countries and close a vital international trade route without consequences.
Trump is leaving Tehran a path to avoid further destruction, but the responsibility now rests with Iran’s regime. It can return to serious negotiations or face growing US military pressure.
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