Just hours after the Islamabad negotiations collapsed with no deal, Trump posted on Truth Social an article that says it all: “The Trump card the president holds if Iran won’t bend: a naval blockade.” The article recalls how the U.S. used the exact same strategy to weaken Venezuela before Maduro’s fall.

The message isn’t subtle. While Vance was confirming the failure of 21 hours of talks, Trump was already signaling the next move: choking Iran by sea, just as he did with Caracas. The post racked up over 1.33 million likes and 397 reTruths within hours. The groundwork is already laid.

CENTCOM confirmed on April 11 that two guided-missile destroyers, the USS Frank E. Peterson and USS Michael Murphy, crossed the Strait of Hormuz and began mine-clearing operations. Trump had already declared that all 28 Iranian minelaying boats “are lying at the bottom of the sea.”