This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here.
Welcome to The Logoff: After the US and Iran failed to reach a longer-term peace agreement over the weekend, President Donald Trump is trying something new: blockading the Strait of Hormuz.
How does that work? Iran already closed the Strait, a crucial passage for oil and natural gas, to most foreign traffic shortly after the US-Iran war began. Now, Trump’s blockade will also stymie traffic to Iranian ports and limit Iran’s ability to sell its own oil, further disrupting the global market.
CENTCOM, the US military command covering the Middle East, has said that the blockade does not extend to ships “transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports” — but given the Strait’s ongoing closure, it’s unlikely much other traffic will resume unless Iran wants it to.
What is Trump trying to accomplish? Trump still wants the Strait of Hormuz fully reopened, which last week’s ceasefire — despite his demands — did not achieve. Now, he appears to be betting that imposing his own closure targeting Iranian shipments will force Iran to give ground.
In a Truth Social post over the weekend, he wrote that “At some point, we will reach an ‘ALL BEING ALLOWED TO GO IN, ALL BEING ALLOWED TO GO OUT’ basis” for the Strait.
What’s the context? As we mentioned above, US and Iranian delegations met in Pakistan over the weekend to try to negotiate a peace deal addressing the ongoing conflict, the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran’s nuclear ambitions. That didn’t work out, so it’s back to the drawing board.
Now what? The blockade aside, the US-Iran ceasefire is still in place until next week, and we may get another round of talks before it expires. Whether that will bear fruit is another question: Vice President JD Vance described the US proposal over the weekend as “our final and best offer.”
The blockade is also likely to drive prices higher worldwide — and increase economic pressure on both countries to reach an agreement.
And with that, it’s time to log off…
Hi readers, have I mentioned that bike racing is maybe the most beautiful sport in the world? I’m sure I have. Specifically, I am thinking about this weekend’s edition of Paris-Roubaix, a race also known as the Hell of the North, and its winner, Wout van Aert, who triumphed on Sunday after years of injuries, mishaps, and being almost but not quite there.
Patrick Redford, Defector’s steadfast cycling correspondent, does a better job than I can of capturing what van Aert’s victory means, and you can read his story here with a gift link (and watch van Aert’s triumphant sprint here).
Thanks for reading, have a great evening, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!
