The US blockade of Iranian ports has begun, President Donald Trump said, according to the Reuters news agency on Monday. He then told reporters at the White House that Iran "called this morning" and that "they want to work on a deal".
Trump did not say exactly who his administration is said to have called. But a US official told Reuters that there is "continued engagement" between Iran and the US in an attempt to reach an agreement.
At the end of last week, the US and Iran negotiated with Pakistan as a mediator. The talks hit a snag over questions about Iran's nuclear program. Trump emphasized on Monday that he will not accept an agreement that allows the Iranian regime to obtain nuclear weapons.
- Iran will not obtain nuclear weapons, Trump states.
- We cannot let one country blackmail or exploit the world.
The US military announced late Sunday evening Danish time that it will begin a blockade of all ships to and from Iranian ports from Monday at 4 p.m. Danish time.
Brigadier General Reza Talaei-Nik, spokesman for Iran's Ministry of Defense, warns that attempts by foreign military forces to patrol the strait will escalate the crisis and worsen global energy security.
US allies in NATO, including Britain and France, have announced that they will not allow themselves to be drawn into the conflict by participating in the blockade.
Earlier on Monday, the president posted a post on his social media, Truth Social, in which he in stark terms warned that Iranian ships that come close to the US blockade of Iranian ports will be "immediately eliminated".
- If any of these ships come even close to our blockade, they will be immediately eliminated using the same killing system that we use against drug smugglers on boats at sea. It is fast and brutal, Trump wrote.
In response to the US and Israeli air strikes, which began on February 28, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz and demanded a fee to allow ships to pass. Since then, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard has been mining the waters. The strait is a crucial maritime bottleneck for the world's energy supply.
The closure has again sent the price of oil above $100 per barrel on the financial markets on Monday.
/ritzau/
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