Donald Trump threatens to destroy any military vessel that violates the blockade of Iranian ports.

In the wake of the collapse of talks between the United States and Iran, Donald Trump threatened on Monday to "destroy" any Iranian "fast attack craft" that breaches the US blockade of Iranian ports. Tehran denounced the situation, condemning it as an "illegal" act of "piracy," and threatened in turn to attack the ports of its Gulf neighbors.

The one-day ultimatum took effect at 2 p.m. GMT. On Monday, April 13, Donald Trump threatened to "destroy" any Iranian "fast attack craft" that breached the US blockade of Iranian ports, the day after talks between the two countries broke down. Denouncing the attack as an "illegal" act of "piracy," Iran warned that it would target the ports of its Gulf neighbors if "the security of the ports of the Islamic Republic (...) were threatened."

The US military had announced that the blockade of ships entering or leaving Iranian ports and coastal areas would take effect on Monday at 2 p.m. GMT, without detailing the modalities.

"If any of these ships come even a little bit near our BLOCKADE, it will be immediately DESTROYED," President Trump clarified on his Truth Social platform, later stating that Iranian leaders would want to reach an agreement "at all costs."

The announcement of a blockade has caused oil prices to surge again and plunged global markets back into uncertainty.

"One can assume that Trump's intention is to try to deprive Iran of its export revenues and to force its main oil importers, particularly China, to pressure Tehran to lift its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz," analyzes the American think tank Soufan Center.

"From a business perspective, this doesn't really ease our pain."

Since the start of the war launched by the United States and Israel on February 28, Tehran has been sealing off the strait and has established passage rights that it intends to maintain.

Donald Trump claimed that 34 ships had passed through Hormuz on Sunday, which was "by far the highest number since the beginning of this insane closure".

China, which relies heavily on Iran for its oil supply, has called for the restoration of "unimpeded" navigation in this strategic passage for global trade, particularly hydrocarbons.

Qatar, for its part, called for maritime routes not to be used as a bargaining chip, while UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged "all parties" to respect freedom of navigation. "We must remember that some 20,000 seafarers are caught in this conflict, stranded on ships with difficulties increasing every day," noted his spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric.

While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unsurprisingly lent his support to the American blockade, London declared it did not support it, and Madrid considered it to have "no sense".

"From a commercial point of view, this doesn't really ease our pain," Nils Haupt, head of communications for the German shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd, told AFP. "Our primary interest is the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, free trade to and from the Gulf."

Maintaining the ceasefire is an "absolute priority"

The inability of Washington and Tehran to reach an agreement during talks in Pakistan is worrying, after more than a month of a war that has killed more than 6,000 people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon.

According to Islamabad, efforts are continuing to resolve outstanding issues and the ceasefire, which expires on April 22, "still holds." Maintaining it is an "absolute priority," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar.

But neither the United States nor Iran has stated its intentions, each blaming the other for the failure of the talks. Donald Trump attributed it to the Iranians' refusal to renounce acquiring nuclear weapons, an ambition Tehran denies having.

According to Iran, an agreement was close, but "unfortunately, we have witnessed continually excessive demands from the American side," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said during a call with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan. Benjamin Netanyahu asserted that the breakdown in talks came from the American side, due to the "immediate opening of the Strait of Hormuz." But the "central issue" for Donald Trump is nuclear power, he added.

Hezbollah demands the cancellation of talks with Israel

On the Lebanese front, Israel continues its campaign against Hezbollah, an ally of Tehran, arguing that the neighboring country was not bound by the ceasefire.

Lebanese authorities announced four deaths in the south, while the Israeli army said it had struck 150 Hezbollah targets in the past 24 hours.

She announced that she had completed the "encirclement" of the city of Bint Jbeil, where she launched an assault, in a significant advance of her ground offensive in the south.

Hezbollah, for its part, claimed to have launched rockets at two Israeli towns near the border.

Talks are scheduled for Tuesday between Lebanese and Israeli representatives in Washington, which Hezbollah has likened to a "capitulation", demanding their cancellation.