April 13 (UPI) -- The U.S. military said it will begin blocking all ships from leaving or entering Iran's ports on Monday morning in line with a maritime blockade ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump to cut off Iranian oil exports.
U.S. Central Command said in a news release Sunday that the blockade would be enforced equitably against vessels of all nations sailing to or from Iranian ports, including all those on the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, but stressed vessels serving ports in neighboring countries would be left alone.
"CENTCOM forces will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports," said the news release, which instructs the masters of all ships to monitor "Notice to Mariners" broadcasts and make radio contact with U.S. naval forces on bridge-to-bridge channels in Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz approaches.
The blockade would effectively cut off Iran's international trade by preventing it from importing or exporting anything by sea, in particular its energy exports on which it is reliant for hard currency.
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