The Media Line: Israel Signals Return to War With Iran as President Trump Dismisses Talks and Tehran Calls US Blockade ‘Piracy’  

Israel Signals Return to War With Iran as President Trump Dismisses Talks and Tehran Calls US Blockade ‘Piracy’  

By The Media Line Staff  

Israel is preparing for a possible return to war with Iran following the collapse of ceasefire talks, Israeli media reported, as US President Donald Trump said he does not care whether Tehran resumes negotiations and Iran condemned a US naval blockade as “piracy.”  

Ynet reported that IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir instructed the military to move to a “heightened state of readiness” and begin preparations for renewed hostilities with Iran. Kan News cited a “senior defense official” as saying that “Israel is interested in renewing the war against Iran,” after the war ended “too early, without sufficient pressure being applied on Iran regarding the nuclear issue and ballistic missiles.”  

President Trump, speaking to reporters on Monday at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, dismissed the possibility of renewed talks. “I don’t care if they come back or not. If they don’t come back, I’m fine.”  

The developments follow the breakdown of negotiations and a US decision to impose a maritime blockade on Iran. US Central Command said it will enforce the measure against all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports, including those along the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, applying it to vessels of all nations operating in Iranian coastal areas.  

CENTCOM said the blockade will begin on Monday April 13 at 10 a.m. ET and will not interfere with freedom of navigation for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.  

Iran’s military condemned the move, warning it would respond if its maritime access is threatened. “The restrictions imposed by criminal America on maritime navigation and transit in international waters are illegal and constitute an example of piracy,” said a statement issued by the Iranian military’s central command center, Khatam Al-Anbiya, that was read on state television.  

“If the security of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s ports in the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea is threatened, no port in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea will be safe,” it added.