Donald Trump posted that the U.S. Navy would from now on block all shipping traffic attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz - in both directions. Every ship that had paid Iran a transit fee should be intercepted on the high seas. And then the sentence that stands above everything: \u201cAny Iranian who shoots at us or at peaceful ships will be blown to hell.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hours later, U.S. Central Command, known as CENTCOM, quietly walked it back. The blockade would apply only to ships heading to or leaving Iranian ports - not to all ships in the strait. Freedom of navigation for non-Iranian traffic would remain untouched, they said. Trump had spoken in the morning of a \u201ccomplete blockade.\u201d All or nothing. Until CENTCOM corrected the post, without calling it that. A complete blockade of the entire strait and a blockade of Iranian ports are two fundamentally different things. The former would mean that no ship at all could pass. The latter allows other traffic through. Trump had announced the former. CENTCOM implemented the latter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Around twenty percent of the world\u2019s oil normally flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Since the start of the war, Iran has largely choked off the passage - only its own ships and a few others were allowed through, possibly for a fee. On Saturday, the day before the blockade announcement, twelve ships crossed the strait - nine oil and gas tankers, three cargo ships. It was the highest number since the ceasefire was announced. Since the truce, about forty commercial vessels have passed through the strait in total - far below prewar levels, but a sign that something was moving. Trump\u2019s announcement could end that within hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kaizen-blog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/batch_kaizennewsday-2026-04-10T063756.837.webp?resize=640%2C354&ssl=1\")