Fact check: Viral video does not show US naval blockade of Iran

Multiple people were sharing a video on social media platform X since Monday, claiming it shows US Navy ships blocking the Strait of Hormuz amid the tensions between the United States and Iran. However, the clip is old and predates the blockade. Backchannel diplomatic efforts by Pakistan paid off, as the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire on April 8, after weeks of escalating hostilities triggered by US-Israeli strikes on February 28, 2026, which quickly spiralled into a wider regional conflict. Pakistan emerged as a central diplomatic actor in securing the ceasefire between the US and Iran, actively facilitating communication between the two sides at a critical stage of the conflict. The effort resulted in a two-week ceasefire and a 21-hour-long marathon Islamabad Talks on April 11. However, the failure of the talks led to the US military initiating a blockade of all Iranian ports and coastal areas on Monday. According to the US military, it will allow ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz if they are travelling between non-Iranian ports. How it started On Monday, a pro-Israeli user, based on their past posts, shared a video on X, showing navy ships with the following caption: “Iran wanted to close the Strait of Hormuz to pressure Trump. But Trump personally took on the task, closing it for them. He even closed it on them! My friend, war is an art.” The post gained 1.6 million views. A propagandist account also shared the same clip with the following caption: “US naval blockade of Iran has officially begun after the military moved to restrict ships entering and exiting Iranian ports, marking a major escalation in tensions. Source-Reuters.” The post accumulated 755,000 views. Subsequently, other X users also shared the same claim, as seen here, here, here, here, here, and here. Methodology A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its high virality and keen public interest in the ceasefire between the US and Iran amid the ongoing tensions. A reverse image was conducted to corroborate whether any such video was covered by mainstream, credible international or Iranian media outlets — or by the US military and navy — but yielded no results featuring the same video. Instead, it yielded a Facebook post dated May 13, 2022. The post did not offer any other details about the video or its original context. The video was sourced from an Instagram account set to private. According to the individual’s profile on social media platform Threads, he is a naval aviator in the US Navy. Fact-check status: False The claim that a viral video shows a US naval blockade of Iran is false. Even though the original context of the video could not be conclusively determined, it was traced as far back as May 2022, thus proving that it is unrelated to and does not show the US Navy’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in its current tensions with Iran. This fact check was originally published by iVerify Pakistan — a project of CEJ-IBA and UNDP.