Trump says US to begin naval blockade of Iran's ports in the Strait of Hormuz

The U.S. military is due to begin a blockade of ships entering or leaving Iran's ports at 10 a.m. (1400 GMT), after weekend talks on ending the war broke down.

Tehran has threatened to retaliate against ports ​of its Gulf neighbors.

The ceasefire, which halted six weeks of U.S. and Israeli airstrikes, is under threat, with only a week left to run.

Oil prices surged when trade reopened on Monday, with no sign of a swift reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to ease the biggest ever disruption in supplies.

An Iranian military spokesperson called any U.S. restrictions on international shipping "piracy," warning that if Iranian ports were threatened, no port in the Gulf or Gulf of Oman would be secure. Any military vessels approaching ​the strait would violate the ceasefire, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said.

Meanwhile, Israel has continued to bombard Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and on Monday Israeli ​troops launched an attack to seize a key south Lebanon town from the group. Israel and the U.S. have said the campaign against Hezbollah was not part of the ceasefire, while Iran has insisted it is. - (REUTERS)