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Politics
Apr 30, 2026
Analyzed by Llama- 4 Scout 17B 16E Instruct

Trump Maintains Iran Blockade, Tehran Threatens 'Practical' Action

AI Summary
US President Donald Trump has vowed to maintain the naval blockade on Iran until a nuclear deal is reached. Tehran has responded by threatening 'practical and unprecedented action' and has set lifting the siege as a precondition for returning to talks.

The Standoff Between US and Iran

President Donald Trump says the United States will continue its naval blockade of Iran until a nuclear deal is reached with Tehran. The US president told Axios on Wednesday that he does not want to end his blockade on Iranian ports, apparently rejecting the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz so that US-Iran talks could proceed.

Iran's Response to the Blockade

Iran has set lifting the siege as a precondition for returning to the talks. According to several media reports, Iran offered a limited deal this week that would end its own blockade on Hormuz in exchange for the end of the siege on its ports. Trump's comments on Wednesday indicate that he turned down the Iranian proposal.

Economic Impact of the Blockade

  • The blockade has sent oil prices soaring, fuelling energy inflation in the US, where the price of one gallon of petrol has surpassed $4.22 ($1.11 per litre) – up from less than $3 ($0.79 per litre) before the war.
  • The international benchmark Brent crude oil futures jumped to more than $119 per barrel on Wednesday as Washington and Tehran escalated their rhetoric.

Future Outlook

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Wednesday that the US is trying to “activate economic pressure and internal division” in the country “to weaken or even collapse us from within”. He promised that Iranians “will defeat this deceptive plan of the enemy” and “achieve a brilliant victory” in the war. Separately, an unidentified senior security source told Iran’s state-owned Press TV that the blockade will soon be met with “practical and unprecedented action”.