A Chinese-owned tanker broke through the U.S.-imposed blockade in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, in the first test of a strategy meant to pressure Iran into capitulation.
The blockade is meant to prevent Iran from profiting from oil exports, many of which go to China. The escalation comes after Pakistan-facilitated peace talks over the weekend between the U.S. and Iran failed to reach a resolution.
“The blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement on Monday. “CENTCOM forces will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.”
A report from Reuters found that the tanker Rich Starry ran the blockade after first appearing to turn around in the Strait. The tanker Six other ships in the Strait were noted as having also turned around.
Starry was waiting off the coast of the UAE prior to running the blockade, according to data from Lloyd’s List. It is unclear whether it had docked at an Iranian port, It is also unknown whether or not the ship was carrying Iranian oil. Lloyd’s List reported that the ship is owned by Shanghai Xuanrun Shipping Company, which has been under sanction from the U.S. since March 2023 due to prior trading with Iran.
U.S. CENTCOM denied reports of Rich Starry running the blockade.
“During the first 24 hours, no ships made it past the U.S. blockade, and 6 merchant vessels complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around to re-enter an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman,” it said in a Tuesday post on X.
The Trump administration’s goals of starving Iran economically in the Strait are having large ripple effects across the world. With 20% of all shipping passing through the Strait, gas prices have surged and disruptions to global supply chains are ongoing.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the closure of the Strait “deeply damaging.”
“Getting global shipping moving is vital to ease cost of living pressures,” he said in a statement on X.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen echoed his sentiment in a speech on Monday.
“The ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz is greatly damaging. The restoration of freedom of navigation is of paramount importance,” she said.
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Still, Trump’s political allies in Washington are praising the blockade.
“The president’s point to Iran is very simple: either all ships come out, or no ships come out,” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said in a Fox News interview on Monday. “This places them [Iran] not just in a military vice, but in an economic vice as well.”
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., called the decision “a great jujitsu move” by Trump and downplayed the economic effects on Americans.
“I’m sorry that gas prices are going up, but help is on the way, and your national security is even more important than your pocketbook,” Marshall said on Tuesday.
