President Trump said on Monday that the US military has begun enforcing a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz as Iran has denounced the move as “piracy.”
US Central Command said the blockade will aim to impede the passage of all ships entering or leaving Iranian ports, including those in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman. US Navy ships will be enforcing the blockade from the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, east of the Strait of Hormuz.
CENTCOM also said it wouldn’t block ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz that aren’t linked to Iran, but such vessels would likely be blocked by Iran anyway, meaning the US move will have the effect of shutting down all transits through the strait.
Iran’s military released a statement calling the US blockade illegal and warning that if the security of ports in Iran is “threatened,” no port in the region would be safe.
“The restrictions imposed by criminal America on maritime navigation and transit in international waters are illegal and constitute an example of piracy,” said the spokesman for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters.
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump warned that any Iranian naval vessels that come near the US Navy ships enforcing the blockade would be “eliminated” and referenced the US bombing campaign against small, alleged drug boats in the waters of Latin America.
“Iran’s Navy is laying at the bottom of the sea, completely obliterated – 158 ships. What we have not hit are their small number of, what they call, “fast attack ships,” because we did not consider them much of a threat,” Trump said.
“Warning: If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED, using the same system of kill that we use against the drug dealers on boats at Sea. It is quick and brutal. P.S. 98.2% of Drugs coming into the U.S. by Ocean or Sea have STOPPED!” the president added.
In another post, Trump claimed that 34 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, but according to ship trackers, only four ships made the transit that day.
Trump ordered the blockade after the US and Iran failed to reach a deal during talks in Pakistan. The blockade is seen as a pressure campaign to get Iran to capitulate to US demands, including a commitment to zero nuclear enrichment, but there’s no sign yet that Tehran is backing down. While Israel has continued its attacks on Lebanon, a ceasefire between the US and Iran has held for several days.
