Trump Orders Preparations for Long-Term Blockade of Iran, U.S.-Iran Confrontation Enters Protracted Phase

On April 28, 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump directed his national security team and military advisors to ready comprehensive plans for a long-term blockade of Iran. According to U.S. media reports, Trump made clear during a meeting with senior aides that the United States will maintain and reinforce its military presence in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters to continuously sever Iran’s oil export channels until Tehran makes substantive concessions on its nuclear program and regional influence. The White House national security team has begun formulating an integrated plan involving naval deployments, allied coordination, and strategic petroleum reserve releases.

Since the outbreak of U.S.-Israeli-Iranian hostilities in late February, the United States had already assembled multiple carrier strike groups in the Persian Gulf, but Trump’s latest statement signals a strategic shift from short-term military strikes toward long-term containment centered on economic strangulation. The escalating blockade policy has stirred profound international concern over global energy supply disruptions and the further unraveling of the Middle East security architecture. Iran has previously warned on multiple occasions that any prolonged blockade would be treated as a continuation of acts of war.