The United States has formally declared its intent to maintain an “indefinite” naval blockade on Iranian ports, signaling a significant escalation in efforts to economically isolate the country as ceasefire negotiations remain at a standstill. Despite claims from President Donald Trump that the US maintains “full control” over the Strait of Hormuz—a vital maritime artery closed by Iran in early March—the reality on the ground appears more complex. Only a handful of vessels have successfully navigated the waterway this week, contradicting official narratives of restored passage.
Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) issued a statement on X this Wednesday, asserting that the waterway remains effectively closed and will not reopen until specific Iranian conditions are met. “Claims and repeated posts by US officials that the Strait of Hormuz is no longer blocked do not change the reality,” the authority stated. “The Strait of Hormuz remains blocked and will not be reopened until Iran’s conditions are accepted.”
So how long can the US really keep a naval blockade going, and can Iran just wait it out? On Thursday, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth addressed these concerns during a trip to Panama, telling reporters that the US military is fully capable of sustaining this pressure. “Indefinitely, the United States Navy can maintain a blockade like that because we’ll rotate ships in and out, as we have, and we’ll continue to,” Hegseth insisted.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent echoed this aggressive stance, indicating that the administration is preparing to implement unprecedented economic measures. “Watch this space for more announcements coming next week because we are going to apply measures that have never been seen in the history of economic isolation on a country,” Bessent said in an interview on Newsmax on Thursday. The strategy appears to be a combination of total economic isolation and a persistent maritime presence.
The reports have prompted urgent questions from US lawmakers regarding the sustainability of this mission. Concerns have centered on the USS Abraham Lincoln, the US flagship aircraft carrier currently enforcing the blockade. That surpasses any previous deployment of a US aircraft carrier without a port stop, placing immense strain on the crew. Reports by military publications, including the Navy Times and Stars and Stripes, have cited family members of personnel on board who described declining mental health, morale, and instances of suicidal ideation among the crew.
The Navy Times spoke on the record with Annabelle Loma, the wife of a sailor on the vessel, who reported that her husband had attempted to jump overboard amid what she described as “severe burnout.” In a formal letter to Secretary Hegseth, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal noted that the carrier, which departed San Diego in November with over 5,000 sailors and Marines, has been “continuously deployed” for an unprecedented duration.
Blumenthal raised the alarm over reports of deteriorating mental health on board, as well as shortages of basic supplies, water contamination, an increase in safety incidents, and even disruptions to mail services, through which those on board receive care packages. “These reports warrant immediate attention, but they also raise a broader question: whether the Navy can sustain this level of operational tempo without sacrificing the well-being of our service members,” Blumenthal wrote.
US senators are now demanding comprehensive answers from the Department of Defense. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has been among the most vocal critics, calling for Hegseth’s resignation. In a post on X, Schumer wrote, “When Pete Hegseth was nominated, everyone knew he was completely incompetent. The reports from the USS Abraham Lincoln prove it. Pete Hegseth must be fired immediately.”
California lawmakers, led by Representative Mike Levin, have also demanded accountability. In a post on X, Levin shared a letter signed by four US lawmakers, stating that “the current situation on the USS Abraham Lincoln is untenable.” The letter demands clear information regarding the operational failures that led to these conditions, specifically asking why unsanitary environments were not addressed and why mental health support was insufficient.
Hegseth has rejected these reports of worsening conditions, dismissing them as “politically motivated misinformation.” Despite his denials, the situation remains a flashpoint in the broader conflict. Analysts suggest that Iran is banking on the US eventually acknowledging the strategic costs of the blockade. “Iran knows that if it’s going to defeat the United States, it should be asymmetrical warfare, and in this economic warfare, the Strait of Hormuz matters the most,” said Mohammad Khoshcheshm, a political analyst.
Mehran Kamrava, a professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar, noted that the Iranian strategy involves exerting economic pressure on regional neighbors like Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia to force a change in the status quo. “They want to stay in power,” Kamrava said. “So I’m not sure if this tactic is going to work at this point, but the pressure on the US military to maintain this blockade is clearly reaching a breaking point.”
Further questions have arisen after several media outlets, particularly within Iran, reported that seven US sailors had been lost at sea during the blockade operations. The US Department of Defense has not confirmed these specific claims, but the lack of transparency regarding the carrier’s status has only fueled further speculation and congressional scrutiny as the standoff continues into its next phase.
Now our brave sailors are paying the price in a horrific and unfathomable way.”
US Central Command (CENTCOM) posted on X on Friday that this claim, as well as that of sailors expressing suicidal ideation, were false.
“The Sailors and Marines of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group remain resilient and resolved after more than 260 days at sea,” it added.
“No service members aboard the aircraft carrier have died, and the one sailor who fell overboard on August 3 was quickly and safely recovered.”
But experts say ships positioned in the Gulf have already been there for too long without a break.
Harlan Ullman, a retired senior naval officer and chairman of the strategic advisory firm The Killowen Group, said USS Abraham Lincoln needs routine maintenance in port, considering how complex and advanced a vessel it is.
Ullman told Al Jazeera that ships require onshore care to keep advanced technology operational over long periods.
“Ships need maintenance, particularly ships that are extremely complicated with very advanced weapon systems such as nuclear-powered carriers with very advanced systems, and there are things that you cannot do in terms of maintenance under way,” Ullman said.
He noted that extended deployments, such as the nine months for USS Abraham Lincoln, “erode the readiness and capability of that ship the longer it’s at sea, and it lacks the ability to repair and extend maintenance”.
He added that the Trump administration must prioritise naval readiness over politics, saying “this is a national issue, not a local one; and the administration should not be so defensive.
It should say, ‘OK, we’ll see what’s going on, and then if there are some issues, we’ll take care of them.’”
Trump has already signalled he would rather rely on squeezing Tehran’s economy than return to a military offensive amid reports that the US may be running low on defensive munitions, something the US president has denied.
“We are low-keying it,” Trump told the news website Axios in an interview on August 9 regarding the US approach to the war on Iran.
The following day, Trump claimed that Iran is in “very bad shape” financially, citing high inflation and difficulty paying its soldiers, and credited a US naval blockade in place.
The US blockade has squeezed Tehran’s most important source of income: Crude oil.
Iran has reportedly already lost at least $6bn in oil revenues since the blockade, which Tehran called “ an act of piracy “, began on April 13.
However, experts say there are several reasons that Iran is in a stronger position than the US claims.
Ali Vaez, deputy programme director for the Middle East and North Africa at the International Crisis Group, said: “Iran could raise the stakes by targeting US naval assets or pushing the Houthis [in Yemen] to tighten the noose around regional energy exports.
“Tehran’s calculus is that, in every game of chicken with Washington, the US has swerved first – and it sees little reason to believe this time will be different,” he added.
Since the US-Israel war on Iran began, Trump has on several occasions threatened military action against Tehran before backing down at the last moment, observers note.
Furthermore, Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz is a major piece of leverage, experts say.
On Thursday, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, Rear Admiral Ali Azmaei, said: “We have complete and decisive control over all movements.
No movement in this strait goes unnoticed by the warriors of the IRGC Navy,” in a statement carried by Tasnim news agency.
Iran sees itself as waging an economic rather than a military war on the US, said Mostafa Khoshcheshm, a professor at the University of Applied Sciences and Technology in Tehran.
Iran is also hoping that the US will simply “acknowledge defeat and leave the region”, said the professor.
Another angle is the economic pressure Iran has been able to apply to neighbouring countries by launching attacks on US military assets hosted there as well as on infrastructure and energy facilities.
“Tehran is under tremendous economic pressure, but we need to bear in mind that Iran’s political system is ultimately a very repressive one.
It’s not that people making decisions directly care about the plight of the middle classes,” he said.
