Why Trump is threatening to blockade a strait that Iran is already blockading | CNN Business

President Donald Trump is threatening to close off the Strait of Hormuz — a crucial waterway that he has repeatedly told Iran must be reopened unconditionally. “Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump posted on Truth Social Sunday morning. “At some point, we will reach an ‘ALL BEING ALLOWED TO GO IN, ALL BEING ALLOWED TO GO OUT’ basis, but Iran has not allowed that to happen.” Iran’s decision to close the strait to oil tanker traffic has caused severe economic damage to some countries that rely on Middle Eastern crude, and it has led prices to surge around the world — including the United States. So why would Trump want to blockade the strait that he wants reopened? The strait isn’t technically closed — Iran has been gradually allowing some tankers through in exchange for a toll of up to $2 million per ship. And, crucially, Iran has been allowing its own oil to pass in and out of the region throughout the war: Iran had managed to export an average of 1.85 million barrels of crude a day through March — about 100,000 ba