The United States has formally threatened to maintain an “indefinite” naval blockade on Iranian ports while simultaneously preparing to impose new, unprecedented measures to isolate the nation economically. This escalation comes as ceasefire negotiations between Washington and Tehran remain in a total deadlock, leaving the region in a state of high tension.
Despite repeated assertions from President Donald Trump that the United States has achieved “full control” of the Strait of Hormuz—the vital maritime artery that Iran closed in early March shortly after the outbreak of hostilities—the reality on the ground suggests otherwise. Only a handful of vessels have successfully navigated the waterway this week, contradicting official US narratives regarding the status of the passage.
Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) issued a firm rebuttal to these claims on Wednesday via social media. “Claims and repeated posts by US officials that the Strait of Hormuz is no longer blocked do not change the reality,” the authority stated on X. The PGSA further emphasized that the strategic waterway remains firmly under closure and will not be reopened until Iran’s specific conditions for a ceasefire are met.
The question of sustainability has become central to the ongoing conflict. On Thursday, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth addressed the media during a trip to Panama, insisting that the US military possesses the logistical capacity to maintain a naval presence in the region indefinitely. “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 asserted.
In parallel with the naval strategy, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the administration is preparing to escalate economic pressure. “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 stated during an interview on Newsmax on Thursday. The administration intends to combine this unprecedented economic warfare with the ongoing naval blockade to force Iran into a position of submission.
However, the human cost of this prolonged deployment is beginning to draw significant scrutiny. Questions have been raised regarding the conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, the flagship aircraft carrier tasked with enforcing the blockade. Reports from military-focused publications, including the Navy Times and Stars and Stripes, have cited family members of personnel who report declining mental health, low morale, and instances of suicidal ideation among the crew.
The Navy Times provided a detailed account featuring Annabelle Loma, the wife of a sailor currently deployed on the vessel. Loma stated that her husband had attempted to jump overboard, citing “severe burnout” resulting from the carrier’s continuous, extended deployment. The vessel, which departed San Diego in November of last year with more than 5,000 sailors and Marines, has been kept at sea for an unusually long duration.
These reports have triggered an urgent response from US lawmakers. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal addressed a formal letter to Secretary Hegseth, highlighting that the aircraft carrier has been “continuously deployed” far beyond standard operational cycles. Blumenthal expressed deep concern over the reported deterioration of mental health among the crew, as well as critical shortages of essential supplies and deteriorating sanitary conditions on the ship.
“These reports warrant immediate attention, but they also raise a broader question: whether the Navy can sustain this level of operational tempo,” Blumenthal wrote. The senator’s concerns have been echoed by other high-ranking officials. US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has publicly called for Hegseth’s resignation, describing the Secretary as “completely incompetent” and unfit to manage the current crisis. “Pete Hegseth must be fired immediately,” Schumer declared in a post on X.
California lawmakers, led by Representative Mike Levin, have also demanded a transparent accounting from the Department of Defense. In a letter signed by four members of Congress, Levin questioned the operational failures that led to the reported conditions. “We need clear and honest information from the Department of Defense about the operational failures that led to this situation,” the letter stated. The lawmakers specifically asked why unsanitary conditions were not addressed and why service members were not provided with adequate mental health support.
Secretary Hegseth has dismissed these reports, characterizing the accounts of worsening conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln as “false” and politically motivated. Despite his denials, the situation remains complicated by reports from various media outlets, particularly within Iran, claiming that seven US sailors have been lost at sea during the blockade, a claim that has added further pressure on the Pentagon to provide a full accounting of the deployment’s status.
Analysts suggest that the conflict has evolved into a war of attrition. Mehran Kamrava, a professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar, noted that Iran is attempting to leverage economic pressure against regional neighbors such as Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia to force a shift in the status quo. Meanwhile, Mohammad Khoshcheshm, a regional analyst, told Al Jazeera that Iran views the Strait of Hormuz as the primary theater for asymmetrical warfare. “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,” Khoshcheshm explained, adding that Tehran is banking on the hope that the US will eventually acknowledge the strategic stalemate and withdraw from the region.
That surpasses any previous deployment of a US aircraft carrier without a port stop.
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.
US senators are demanding answers from Hegseth.
Now our brave sailors are paying the price in a horrific and unfathomable way.”
“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.’”
The US is hoping it can cripple Iran’s economy by keeping its naval blockade in place.
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.
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.
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.
“They want to stay in power,” he added.
“So I’m not sure if this tactic is going to work at this point.”