Hormuz is closed again. Trump: “Lockdown from 4pm”, London goes away. Ghalibaf: “Now enjoy the petrol prices”

John

By John

After the US-Iran negotiations in Islamabad failed, tensions exploded again with Trump announcing a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The United States will block ships “entering or exiting” Iranian ports starting from 4pm Italian time this afternoon. The American president wrote it in Truth. “Great Britain and a couple of other countries are sending minesweepers, the US will stop any ship that pays a toll to Tehran”, says the tycoon, who once again threatens to bomb power plants and warns China: “50% duties if it sends weapons to the regime”. However, London withdraws and the Pasdaran warn: “We will trap the enemies in the deadly vortex of Hormuz”. The delegation led by Vance left Pakistan in the night: “It was the last offer, they did not commit to the nuclear”https://gazzettadelsud.it/articoli/mondo/2026/04/13/hormuz-e-nuovamente-chiuso-trump-il-blocco-dei-por give-you-today-at-16-ghalibaf-now-enjoy-the-petrol-prices-aef39a74-2c31-46fe-8622-8de19a399eca/.”Requests unreasonable,” he replies. Putin hears Pezeshkian and offers himself as a mediator. Israeli tanks ram Italian Unifil vehicles, Netanyahu visits troops in Lebanon.

Starmer does not support the US naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz

“The United Kingdom does not support the naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz announced by American President Donald Trump,” the British prime minister told the BBC. “We were clear that we would not allow ourselves to be dragged into this war,” the Labor prime minister reiterated. London has in fact only participated in “defensive actions” since the beginning of the conflict unleashed by the USA and Israel against Iran, arousing harsh criticism from President Trump. Starmer underlined that the objective to be pursued is the reopening of the Strait as “the only way to bring energy prices down in the shortest possible time”. Asked whether he holds Trump personally responsible for the impact on British energy bills, the prime minister did not respond directly, saying that “the most important thing” to do now is to bring together the countries involved in the conflict to encourage de-escalation and the reopening of the Strait.

Macron, a conference with London in view of a peaceful mission for Hormuz

France «will organize with Great Britain, in the next few days, a conference with countries ready to contribute alongside it to a peaceful multinational mission aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz». The French president, Emmanuel Macron, announced it this morning in a post on X.

Ghalibaf, ‘The US will soon regret the 4-5 dollars a gallon’

“Enjoy the current prices at the pump. With the so-called ‘lockout,’ you will soon regret the $4-5 a gallon.” The president of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, wrote this on The speaker of the Iranian parliament therefore warned that the move could have negative repercussions on American consumers, resulting in an increase in fuel prices. In his message, Ghalibaf also posted a graph of fuel prices near the White House and posted a cryptic formula, “ΔO_BSOH>0 ⇒ f(f(O))>f(O),” which could be interpreted as a technical warning about cumulative shocks to oil markets.

Strait of Hormuz, ‘Maritime traffic has stopped again’

“Sea traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has once again come to a standstill after US President Donald Trump announced the launch of a naval blockade following failed negotiations with Iranian officials.” This was written by Lloyd’s List, a newspaper specializing in news relating to navigation. “Before the announcement of the blockade – we read in an article – maritime traffic through the strait had continued, albeit at reduced levels, even on Sunday. On Saturday there was a slight increase in the transit of oil tankers, as shipping companies prepared to jeopardize the provisional ceasefire agreement to get some ships out of the Persian Gulf. Following Trump’s announcement of the naval blockade, however, all traffic seems to have stopped and at least two ships that seemed headed to leave the strait turned around route”.

Trump: ‘Other countries involved to prevent Iran from selling oil’

Donald Trump said “other nations are working to prevent Iran from selling oil” while speaking to reporters upon his arrival in Washington. The American president did not specify which countries are involved and how.

Araghchi, ‘We were one step away from an agreement, stopped by US maximalism’

“In intense talks at the highest level in 47 years, Iran made good faith commitments to the United States to end the war. But one step away from the ‘Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding,’ we ran into maximalism, game-changing and blockade. No lessons learned.” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi writes this on X. “Goodwill begets goodwill. Enmity begets enmity,” he concluded.

Media, ‘5 dead in southern Lebanon, the IDF also uses phosphorus bullets’

Israeli forces launched air strikes, artillery shelling and phosphorus shells in southern Lebanon. Al-Jazeera writes this quoting the Lebanese National Press Agency (NNA), which reported that five people were killed in the cities of Bazouriyeh, Nabatiyeh El Faouqa, Sir El Gharbiyeh and Choukine. According to the NNA, further attacks also occurred against the city of Bint Jbeil, already under continuous attack, and against the cities of Majdal Zoun and Bayt al-Sayyad in the Tire district. The agency also reported intense artillery shelling on the cities of Al-Haniyah, Al-Qalilah, Al-Mansouri and Beit Al-Sayyad, and against Zibqin in the Tire district, which was hit by artillery shelling and phosphorus bombs. Warplanes also attacked the town of Siddiqin, in the same district.

Media Israel, ‘Hezbollah rocket hits the remains of an ancient Byzantine church’

The remains of an approximately 1,500-year-old Byzantine church in the northern Israeli town of Nahariya were hit by a Hezbollah rocket on Friday evening. The Israeli Antiquities Authority confirmed this to the Times of Israel, after the news was first reported by the Israeli website Ynet. The rocket hit a modern structure inaugurated in 2022 to preserve an impressive mosaic floor of more than 500 square meters and make it accessible to the public. According to what was reported by the Israeli cultural authorities, “the mosaic was covered by debris from the modern structure in which it was stored, but was not damaged.” The floor was part of a church destroyed during the Sasanian Persian invasion of 614 AD and completely razed by fire. The colorful mosaics depict scenes of animals, plants and human figures in various situations. Images taken by the Israel Antiquities Authority of the site after the attack show the floor covered in dust, stones, tiles and broken bricks.