Iran has accused the United States of piracy as an American blockade of Iranian ports is set to begin in hours.
The US Central Command announced it would close access to all Iranian ports beginning Monday at 10am EDT, or 3pm in the UK and 5.30pm in Iran, after Islamabad negotiations collapsed over the weekend.
Movement will be permitted for vessels departing from non-Iranian ports and transiting through the Strait of Hormuz.
“The restrictions imposed by criminal America on maritime navigation and transit in international waters are illegal and constitute an example of piracy,” Ebrahim Zolfagheri, spokesperson for the Iranian armed forces said on Monday.
President Donald Trump threatened to enforce a blockade of Hormuz on Sunday but the US later backtracked and said it would “not impede” movement through the waterway.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that “approaching military vessels to the Strait of Hormuz is considered a violation of the ceasefire”.
Trump is reportedly considering resuming air strikes on Iran, according to US officials cited in the Wall Street Journal.
Islamabad talks are said to have failed after disagreements over Hormuz and the development of Iran’s nuclear programme. Trump said: “I don’t care”, when asked if he thought Iran would return to negotiations.
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Iran accuses US of 'piracy' and 'illegal' port blockade threats
Iran has accused the United States of piracy after it has threatened to impose a blockade on Iranian ports within hours.
The warnings came after Islamabad negotiations collapsed over the weekend.
Ebrahim Zolfagheri, the most visible spokesperson for the Iranian armed forces said on Monday that US restriction on vessels in international waters “amounts to piracy”.
“The restrictions imposed by criminal America on maritime navigation and transit in international waters are illegal and constitute an example of piracy,” he said in a statement on state media.
UK will not back blockade of Strait of Hormuz
UK prime minister Keir Starmer has said that Britain will not back a blockade of the Strait.
"It is, in my view, vital that we get the Strait open and fully open, and that's where we've put all of our efforts in the last few and we'll continue to do so," Starmer told BBC Radio 5 Live on Sunday.
US will 'not impede' ships passing through Strait of Hormuz after
The United States has backtracked from threats to blockade the Strait of Hormuz and said it will “not impede” the passage of vessels through the vital shipping route.
US Central Command announced that a blockade of Iranian ports would continue to go ahead on Monday starting from 10am EDT (3pm BST).
While Iranian ports will be cut off from transit, the US said it would not restrict the movement of vessels departing from non-Iranian ports.
Watch: The Independent's Millie Cooke analyses Iran war latest as Trump vows Strait of Hormuz blockade
Warnings of UK fuel protests as Iran war sends price of diesel to £2 a litre
Farmers are planning fuel protests in England after the Iran war sent fuel prices soaring to £2 per litre, it has been reported.
Ireland has already faced nationwide fuel protests from farming organisations this week over soaring petrol and diesel prices, which have caused significant disruption and threats to critical supplies throughout the country.
Read more here:
Warnings of UK fuel protests as Iran war sends price of diesel to £2 a litre
Prices could rise further as peace talks between the US and Iran fail to reach a deal Mike Bedigan13 April 2026 08:00
Opinion: Trump’s genocidal rant marked the end of the American century
President Truman and JFK expressed that the US cared for the world’s poor, says Peter Frankopan, while the current administration seems only to care about the supposed glory of America, and destroying their enemies.
Read more here:
Trump’s genocidal rant marked the end of the American century
President Truman and JFK expressed that the US cared for the world’s poor, says Peter Frankopan, while the current administration seems only to care about the supposed glory of America, and destroying their enemies Mike Bedigan13 April 2026 07:30
Oil jumps and Asian markets slide as US readies for Strait of Hormuz blockade
Oil prices resumed their climb and Asian markets mostly declined on Monday as the US military prepared to blockade ships entering or leaving the Strait of Hormuz, where most shipping has been stalled by Iran since the start of the war.
Oil prices have been rising as shipping through the strait has essentially stalled since late February. Brent crude oil, the international standard, has gone from roughly $70 per barrel before the war in late February to more than $119 at times.
On Monday, benchmark US crude jumped 8.7 per cent to $104.95 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose $7.00, or 7.4 per cent, to $102.23 a barrel.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 1.0 per cent in morning trading to 56,357.40. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.5 per cent to 8,913.50.
South Korea's Kospi dipped 1.1 per cent to 5,795.15. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped nearly 1.5 per cent to 25,513.42, while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.2 per cent to 3,976.57.
Shweta Sharma13 April 2026 07:15
Catholic cardinal calls Trump's social media posts 'sickening'
A U.S. Catholic Cardinal Blase Cupich has described the Trump administration’s social media posting around the Iran way as “sickening”
“We’re dehumanizing the victims of war by turning the suffering of people and the killing of children and our own soldiers into entertainment,” Cupich said, speaking during a 60 Minutes interview Sunday on CBS.
The official White House account has posted numerous clips interspersing action films and video games along with real footage from Operation Epic Fury.
“It is sickening. To splice together movie cuts with actual bombing and targeting of people for the purposes of entertainment is sickening,” Cupich added.
“This is not who we are. We’re better than this.”
Mike Bedigan13 April 2026 07:00
UN says US war on Iran plunged more than 32 million people into poverty
More than 32 million people could be pushed into poverty as the economic fallout from the Iran war ripples across the global economy, with developing countries expected to bear the brunt.
In a new report, the United Nations Development Programme warned of a “triple shock” driven by rising energy costs, food insecurity, and slowing economic growth, even as a fragile ceasefire hangs in the balance.
The agency said the conflict is already reversing years of development progress, with poorer nations likely to suffer the most severe and lasting damage.
“This is development in reverse,” said Alexander De Croo, head of the UNDP.
“Even if the war stops, and a ceasefire is obviously very welcome, the impact is already there. You will see an enduring impact, especially in poorer countries, where people are pushed back into poverty.”
Energy prices have surged since the initial US–Israeli strikes on Tehran, while Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted global oil and gas flows.
The knock-on effects on fertilisers and shipping have raised fears of a looming “food security timebomb” for the developing world.
Shweta Sharma13 April 2026 06:47
Trump tells Fox he could take out Iran 'in one day'
Donald Trump told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo that he could “take Iran out in one day,” hours after his vice president emerged from talks in Islamabad without an agreement to end the war with Iran.
“I could take out Iran in one day… in one hour. I could have their entire energy, everything, every one of their power-generating plants, which is a big deal. I hate to do it, because if you do it, it takes ten years to build… they’ll never be able to rebuild it,” Trump added.
The president also said that he took out a bridge in Iran “just to how them because they came out with a statement.
Trump called into Fox from his resort in the Miami suburb of Doral, in Florida, where he reportedly played golf and discussed the talks with advisers.
Mike Bedigan13 April 2026 06:45NewerOlder