WASHINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) – No ships have made it past a U.S. naval blockade of Iran’s ports and coastal areas, and six merchant ships have followed orders to turn back, the U.S. military said on Tuesday, providing the first details on a day-old effort ordered by President Donald Trump after peace talks between the U.S. and Iran broke down.
The U.S. military has said that the blockade, which started on Monday, would only apply to ships going to or from Iran, including all Iranian ports on the Gulf and Gulf of Oman.
“During the first 24 hours, no ships made it past the U.S. blockade and six merchant vessels complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around to re-enter an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman,” the U.S. military’s Central Command said in the statement.
More than 10,000 U.S. military personnel, more than a dozen warships and dozens of aircraft were enforcing the blockade, it said.
“The blockade is being enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas,” the statement added.
In a note sent to seafarers about the blockade on Monday, the U.S. military said: “Any vessel entering or departing the blockaded area without authorization is subject to interception, diversion, and capture.”
The Monday note said the blockade would include all of Iran’s coastline, but humanitarian shipments including food, medical supplies and other essential goods would be permitted, subject to inspection.
Trump announced the blockade following the breakdown of weekend talks to end the six-week-long war between the U.S. and Iran, sending oil prices back above $100 a barrel.
The blockade adds to uncertainty around how ships will transit the crucial waterway, used to move one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart, Bhargav Acharya and Doina Chiacu; Editing by David Ljunggren and Alex Richardson)
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