The U.S. military said that in the first 24 hours after launching the operation to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, no Iranian ships passed through it.
U.S. Central Command said on the 14th (local time) on social media X that "in the first 24 hours of the operation, no vessel passed through the U.S. blockade," and "six merchant ships, following U.S. instructions, turned around and returned to Iranian ports located in the Gulf of Oman."
It added, "More than 10,000 Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force personnel and more than 12 warships and dozens of aircraft are carrying out the mission of blockading ships entering and leaving Iranian ports."
However, apparently mindful of controversy over blocking international maritime traffic, it stressed that the navigation of ships unrelated to Iran is being guaranteed. Central Command said, "We are supporting freedom of navigation for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz that are traveling to and from ports other than Iran."
The United States and Iran entered a two-week cease-fire around the 8th, and held follow-up end-of-war talks in Pakistan on the 11th–12th, but ended without an agreement after failing to narrow differences over the nuclear issue.
After that, starting at 10 a.m. on the 13th Eastern time, the U.S. military began a maritime blockade against Iran centered on the Strait of Hormuz.
However, some U.S. media have questioned its effectiveness, saying that some ships that departed Iranian ports before and after the start of the blockade passed through the strait.
The New York Times (NYT), citing shipping data from vessel-tracking firm Kpler, reported that the Liberian-flagged cargo ship Christiana departed the Iranian port city of Bandar Imam Khomeini and exited the Persian Gulf through the strait on the night of the 13th.