- Iran's IRGC said no port in Middle East will be safe” after Trump threatened to impose a blockade on Hormuz
- Iran said "enemy-affiliated vessels” will be denied passage through the critical waterways
- IRGC said Tehran will firmly implement a permanent mechanism for controlling Hormuz
Iran has warned that "no port in the Gulf and the Sea of Oman will be safe" after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose a blockade on all traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in a statement, said the security of ports in the Middle East is "either for everyone or for no one", according to the state broadcaster IRIB.
"The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran consider defending the legal rights of our country a natural and legal duty, and accordingly, exercising the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the territorial waters of our country is the natural right of the Iranian nation," IRGC's statement said.
It added that all "enemy-affiliated vessels" will be denied passage through the critical waterways, while other ships may transit, subject to regulations set by Tehran.
Theat Of Prolonged Blockade
The Iranian armed forces said that if the security of the Islamic Republic's ports is threatened, "no port in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman will be safe".
Citing "continuing enemy threats", the IRGC said Tehran "will firmly implement a permanent mechanism for controlling the Strait of Hormuz" even after war with the United States and Israel is over.
"The restrictions imposed by the criminal United States on maritime movement in international waters are illegal and amount to piracy," it added.
The US Warning
The Iranian remarks have set the stage for a showdown, as the US military has already announced the blockade of all Iranian ports and coastal areas, as President Donald Trump sought to pressure Iran in a move that risks driving oil prices even higher and renewing the war.
US Central Command has said the blockade would begin on Monday at 10 a.m. EDT, or 5:30 p.m. in Iran, and 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 (Persian Gulf) and the Gulf of Oman."
CENTCOM said it would still allow ships travelling between non-Iranian ports to transit the strait, a step down from the president's earlier threat to blockade the entire strait.
The blockade is likely intended to add pressure on Iran, which has exported millions of barrels of oil since the war began, much of it likely carried by so-called "dark" transits that evade Western government sanctions and oversight.
US-Iran Ceasefire
The move came after marathon US-Iran ceasefire talks in Pakistan ended without an agreement on Saturday. US Vice President JD Vance said the talks stalled after Iran refused to accept American terms to refrain from developing a nuclear weapon.
Iran has demanded compensation for damage caused by US-Israeli strikes that launched the war on February 28 and the release of Iran's frozen assets.
The announcement of the blockade has halted the limited ship traffic that resumed in the strait since the ceasefire, said an early report from Lloyd's List intelligence. Marine trackers said over 40 commercial ships have crossed since the start of the ceasefire, down from roughly 100 to 135 vessel passages per day before the war.
