- US President Trump warned Iranian fast-attack vessels near the naval blockade will be destroyed
- Trump claimed Iran’s navy is largely destroyed with 158 ships sunk in recent fighting
- US imposed a naval blockade on all ships at Iranian ports starting Monday at 1400 GMT
US President Donald Trump has warned that any Iranian fast-attack vessels approaching the naval blockade he ordered around Iran's ports will be destroyed, while international mediators urged respect for a fragile ceasefire and the resumption of talks to end the conflict.
In a social media post on Monday, Trump claimed that Iran's navy had already been largely destroyed in the fighting, with 158 ships sunk. He claimed the only vessels left untouched were a small number of what Tehran calls "fast attack ships", which the US had not targeted because they were not regarded as a significant threat.
"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. 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!" Trump said in a Truth Social post.
The warning followed the announcement on Sunday of a US naval blockade, imposed after a high-level American delegation returned empty-handed from talks in Pakistan
The US military had declared that the blockade would take effect at 1400 GMT on Monday and would apply to all ships either leaving or seeking to dock at Iranian harbours. It would be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
US Central Command added that American forces would not impede vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.
Yet as the deadline passed there was no public announcement from Washington that the measure had come into force, nor any visible sign of interceptions at sea.
Iran's acting Minister of Defence Brigadier General Seyyed Majid Ibn Reza said the country was ready for any scenario and that its armed forces were on maximum combat alert.
"We are ready for any scenario, and the armed forces are on maximum combat alert. Any act of aggression or provocation by the enemy will be met with a harsh and decisive response," he said.
A member of Iran's Commission on National Security and Foreign Policy, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, described Trump's claims about a military blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as unfounded and purely propaganda.
"If the US truly intended to confront Iran, it would not be withdrawing its carriers from the region out of fear of Iran's missile and naval cruise capabilities. Donald Trump's recent claims about a military blockade of the Strait of Hormuz are unfounded and purely propaganda. US president has no real ability to block the Strait of Hormuz, and even NATO members would not support such a move," he said.
Iran's military command went further, branding the planned blockade a criminal act of piracy. It warned that if the security of its harbours was threatened, no port in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea would be safe.
The latest escalation came despite a two-week truce agreed last Wednesday between the United States and Iran to allow negotiations to proceed.
