Overview
- The U.S. military began enforcing a blockade of ships entering or leaving Iranian ports on Monday, following 21-hour Islamabad talks that ended without a deal.
- President Trump warned that vessels approaching U.S. positions would be "immediately ELIMINATED," as Navy teams kept clearing mines and the Strait of Hormuz stayed largely constrained.
- Oil prices jumped with Brent crude back above $100 a barrel, and governments from Asia to Australia reported fuel strains including empty diesel pumps and reserve draws.
- European leaders declined to join the blockade and moved to assemble a separate defensive mission to help protect commercial passage through the strait when conditions permit.
- Mediators from Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt continued shuttle diplomacy, and U.S. officials discussed a possible second in-person round before the April 21 ceasefire deadline as displacement in Lebanon and Iran mounted.