Trump says US military has blockaded Iranian ports to pressure Tehran

CAIRO — U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that the American military had begun a blockade of Iranian ports as part of his effort to force Tehran to open the Strait of Hormuz and accept a deal to end the war that has raged for more than six weeks. Iran responded with threats on all ports in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, taking aim at U.S.-allied countries. That set the stage for an extraordinary showdown that posed serious risks for the global economy and raised the specter that the ceasefire could collapse and the war could resume. Talks aimed at permanently ending the conflict — which began Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran — failed to reach an agreement this past weekend. There has been no word on whether negotiations will resume. Trump says the blockade has begun “We can’t let a country blackmail or extort the world because that’s what they’re doing,” Trump said of Iran at the White House, where he announced the blockade had started. He suggested the U.S. remains willing to engage with Iran. “I can tell you that we’ve been called by the oth

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