KUALA LUMPUR — Global oil prices jumped 8 per cent after US President Donald Trump announced a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, with Brent crude exceeding US$102 per barrel, according to trading data.
As of 22:01 GMT Sunday, June Brent crude futures were trading up 7.76 per cent from the previous close at US$102.59 per barrel, while May WTI futures were up 8.2 per cent at US$104.51.
Iran and the US began talks in Islamabad on Saturday after Trump announced an agreement with Tehran on a two-week ceasefire on Wednesday night.
On Sunday morning, however, Vice President J.D. Vance, who headed the US delegation, announced that Iran and the US had failed to reach an agreement.
Trump followed with an announcement that the US would begin a blockade of all vessels attempting to enter and exit the Strait of Hormuz. The US Navy is to track and intercept all vessels that paid Iran to pass through the strait.
US Central Command in a statement said it would begin a blockade of “all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports” at 14:00 GMT on April 13, or 10pm Malaysian time tonight.
It said the blockade will be “enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas,” noting that this will include all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
“CENTCOM forces will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports,” it added.
Commercial ships will be notified ahead of the blockade, it also said, and advised all vessels in the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz to monitor maritime broadcasts and contact US naval forces if needed.
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy Command has reacted to Trump’s threat that any “wrong move” in the Strait of Hormuz would trap its enemies in “deadly whirlpools”, according to an IRGC-affiliated news outlet.
Iranian drones are monitoring the strait in real time and all movement in the area was under the “full control” of Iran’s armed forces, it added.
International media such as CNN and BBC have reported that around 500 to 800 ships are currently stranded or delayed in the Persian Gulf area since the US-Israel strikes on Iran began in late February. – April 13, 2026