US President Donald Trump has threatened to destroy Iranian ships entering the Persian Gulf.
“The Iranian navy lies at the bottom of the sea, completely destroyed – 158 ships. We didn’t hit their few, as they call them,” fast attack ships” because we didn’t consider them a serious threat. A warning: if any of these ships approach our blockade, they will be destroyed immediately using the same destruction system we use against drug traffickers on boats at sea,” he wrote in Truth Social.
US Central Command earlier said it would begin a blockade of maritime traffic to Iranian ports at 10:00 a.m. North American Eastern Time (5:00 p.m. Kiev time) on 13 April. According to the announcement, the restrictions will apply to all vessels regardless of country if they are travelling to or leaving Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. There are no plans to restrict passage through the Strait of Hormuz to ports in other countries.
A senior U.S. official told The Wall Street Journal that 15 U.S. warships are being used to enforce the blockade. He added that several European countries were willing to participate in ensuring the safety of shipping but refused to join the blockade.
The decision came after the failure of US-Iran talks in Islamabad on 11 April. The two sides failed to agree on a key issue – Tehran’s nuclear programme.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned that the approach of military vessels to the strait will be considered a ceasefire violation and will be halted firmly. An Iranian military spokesman called the US action to restrict ship traffic an “act of piracy” and threatened that ports in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman would not be safe if Iran’s ports were threatened.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the White House is discussing the next steps, from resuming limited strikes on Iran to a larger operation, but the latter option is considered less likely. The Journal’s sources emphasised that the Trump administration is also considering a short-term blockade with the transfer of some responsibility for the safety of shipping to allies.