Iran war latest: US Navy to begin 'blockade' in Strait of Hormuz, Trump says

As the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran enters its 44th day on Sunday, a nearly day-long negotiating session between the United States and Iran ended without a peace deal and little word on when talks may resume. 

At a news conference in Pakistan. Vice President JD Vance announced that the U.S. and Iran had failed to reach an agreement despite 21 hours of negotiations. Vance indicated that he and his team would be returning to the U.S. because Iran won't back down from its nuclear ambitions. 

"So we go back to the United States, having not come to an agreement. We've made very clear what our red lines are, what things we're willing to accommodate them on, and what things we're not willing to accommodate them on," Vance said. "And we've made that as clear as we possibly could, and they have chosen not to accept our terms."

"The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon," Vance told reporters. "That is the core goal of the president of the United States. And that’s what we’ve tried to achieve through these negotiations."

Vice President JD Vance speaks during a news conference after meeting with representatives from Pakistan and Iran in Islamabad on April 12, 2026. (Photo by Jacquelyn MARTIN / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump is ramping up U.S. efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, where 20% of the world's oil passes daily. Tehran’s control of the strait has proved a strategic advantage in the war, driving up energy prices across the globe. 

More than 3,000 people have been killed in Iran since the war began, along with at least 13 U.S. troops and more than 1,900 people in Lebanon. 

RELATED: Iranian death toll surpasses 3,000, official says

Here’s the latest: 

Trump says US starting ‘blockade’ in Strait of Hormuz

U.S. and Iran begins peace talks in Pakistan

Prolonged talks between high-level officials from the United States and Iran in Pakistan stretched into Sunday, a historic encounter between decades-old adversaries as they sought to broker peace after more than a month of conflict. LiveNOW's Austin Westfall brings retired Marine intelligence officer, Hal Kempfer, into the conversation to discuss. 

8:30 a.m. ET: President Trump said Sunday that the U.S. Navy will "immediately" begin a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. The blockade would stop vessels from entering or leaving the strait.

According to President Trump, the Strait of Hormuz remained closed Sunday because Iran says it cannot locate all the mines it laid in the strait. 

A view of the vessels heading towards the Strait of Hormuz following the two-week temporary ceasefire reached between the United States and Iran on the condition that the strait be reopened, seen in Oman on April 08, 2026. The strait was closed again

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"Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz," Trump wrote on Truth Social Sunday. "At some point, we will reach an ‘ALL BEING ALLOWED TO GO IN, ALL BEING ALLOWED TO GO OUT’ basis, but Iran has not allowed that to happen by merely saying, ‘There may be a mine out there somewhere,’ that nobody knows about but them. THIS IS WORLD EXTORTION, and Leaders of Countries, especially the United States of America, will never be extorted. I have also instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran. No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas. We will also begin destroying the mines the Iranians laid in the Straits. Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL! Iran knows, better than anyone, how to END this situation which has already devastated their Country."

Israel and Lebanon to hold peace talks in Washington

CENTCOM: US destroyers pass through strait of Hormuz

U.S. Central Command forces began preparing to clear sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz. Two U.S. Navy destroyers, the USS Frank E. Peterson and USS Michael Murphy, moved through the area and carried out operations in the Arabian Gulf as part of a mission to make sure the strait is completely clear of mines previously placed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Earlier today President Trump announced that the US has started the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz and that oil ships were headed the the US. 

8:30 a.m. ET: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had approved direct talks with Lebanon, while Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s office said negotiations between Israel and Lebanon are expected to begin Tuesday in Washington. 

One of Iran's conditions for a ceasefire is that Israel stop attacking Lebanon, but Israel has so far said it won't stop its military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon.