- Iranian tanker Silly City entered Iranian waters despite a US naval blockade and threats
- US President Donald Trump confirmed the US blockade will remain and the ceasefire with Iran won't extend
- Trump warned if ceasefire lapses without deal, "lots of bombs start going off" in the region
An Iranian tanker called "Silly City" successfully reached the country's waters despite a naval blockade and threats from a US Navy task force. According to reports from local media, the vessel reached a southern Iranian port overnight after passing through the Arabian Sea with full security and operational support from Iran's navy.
"Despite numerous warnings and threats from the US Navy Fleet Group, the Iranian oil tanker Silly City, with the operational support of the Iranian Navy and in full safety, entered Iran's territorial waters last night after crossing the Arabian Sea," the Iranian military said in a statement on Tuesday.
Shipping industry intelligence site Lloyd's List reported that more than 20 Iranian so-called "shadow vessels" had transited past the US blockade
The Strait of Hormuz in peacetime sees around 120 daily transits, according to the site.
As of Monday, CENTCOM said that US forces have directed 25 commercial vessels to turn around or return to an Iranian port since the US blockade began.
Traffic through the channel remained at a virtual standstill following a chaotic weekend in which Iran declared the corridor open before closing it again after the US declined to lift its blockade.
Trump Says US Blockade To Remain In Place
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the US blockade will remain in place for now. He also said that a two-week ceasefire with Iran, which is set to expire Wednesday evening, will not be extended.
Iran has, meanwhile, said that by imposing a blockade and violating the ceasefire, Trump seeks to turn the negotiating table into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering.
"We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats, and in the past two weeks, we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield," Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who is Iran's top negotiator in talks with the United States, wrote in a post on X.
Trump's "Lots Of Bombs" Warning
However, amid the uncertainty over talks, Trump has issued a stark warning, declaring that if the fragile two-week ceasefire with Iran expires without a breakthrough, "then lots of bombs start going off."
Speaking to PBS News, Trump was asked what would happen if the ceasefire expires. "Then lots of bombs start going off," he said.
"I mean, they're supposed to be there. We agreed to be there, although they say we didn't. But no, it was set up. And we'll see whether or not it's there. If they're not there, that's fine too," he added.
In one of a series of angry posts on his Truth Social platform, Trump insisted that the blockade was "absolutely destroying" Iran and said it will not end "until there is a 'DEAL'," in which the United States is pressing for Iranian concessions on its contested nuclear programme.
