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The U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports remains in effect despite President Donald Trump’s announcement that restrictions would be lifted, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Saturday, citing Iranian seafarers.
“The naval blockade is still in place and ships are receiving stop warnings and denial of passage from CENTCOM,” the report quoted the seafarers as saying.
The report raised questions over the implementation of Trump’s pledge to ease restrictions on maritime traffic linked to Iranian ports.
Mohsen Rezaei, a senior military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, accused Washington of acting in bad faith and undermining diplomatic efforts.
“As expected, the U.S. President is betraying diplomacy for the third time,” Rezaei wrote on X.
“By continuing the naval blockade and making excessive demands in negotiations, he has further proven that he is not willing to engage in talks and is pursuing other objectives,” he added.
In a post Friday on Truth Social, U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran would be required to remove any remaining mines in the Strait of Hormuz and that the United States would lift its naval blockade on vessels traveling to and from Iranian ports.
“Ships caught in the Strait due to our amazing and unprecedented Naval Blockade, which will now be lifted, may start the process of ‘heading home!’” Trump wrote.
Regional tensions escalated after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran in February.
Tehran responded with attacks targeting Israel and U.S. allies in the Gulf and moved to close the Strait of Hormuz.
A ceasefire took effect on April 8 through Pakistani mediation and was later extended indefinitely by Trump.
After negotiations in Islamabad stalled, the United States imposed a blockade on Iranian ports on April 13, including ports located along the Strait of Hormuz. Mediation efforts aimed at reaching a permanent settlement to the conflict remain ongoing.
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