U.S. President Donald Trump Monday warned Iran that any naval vessels approaching American ships enforcing a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz would be “immediately ELIMINATED,” as tensions escalated following the collapse of peace talks. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said that Iran’s naval capabilities had been severely degraded.
“Iran’s Navy is lying at the bottom of the sea, completely obliterated – 158 ships,” he wrote, while noting that Tehran still retains a limited number of “fast attack 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.
He issued a direct warning to Iran against challenging the U.S. blockade. “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,” he added.
The warning came as the United States began enforcing a blockade on Iranian ports at 10 a.m. ET Monday (7.30 om IST), targeting maritime access in the Strait of Hormuz after diplomatic efforts with Tehran broke down over the weekend.
U.S. Central Command said the blockade would apply to vessels of all nations interacting with Iranian ports and coastal areas, with ships subject to “interception, diversion, and capture” if they fail to comply.
Iran has condemned the U.S. move as “piracy” and warned it would respond with “decisive” force, raising the risk of renewed hostilities less than a week into a fragile ceasefire.
Tehran also signalled that no port in the Persian Gulf or the Sea of Oman would remain secure if its own facilities were threatened, underscoring the potential for escalation across the wider region.
Iran threatens ports in Mideast as US military set to impose shipping blockade
Iran immediately responded with threats on all ports in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
“Security in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman is either for everyone or for NO ONE,” the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported Monday.
“NO PORT in the region will be safe,” read a statement from the Iranian military and the Revolutionary Guard.
The threats halted the limited ship traffic that resumed in the strait since the ceasefire, according to a report from Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
Marine trackers say over 40 commercial ships have crossed since the start of the ceasefire last week, down from roughly 100 to 135 vessel passages per day before the war.
The blockade is likely intended to pile 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 sanctions and oversight.
But the effects will be felt far beyond Iran. The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 7% to hover around $102 per barrel on Monday. It cost roughly $70 per barrel before the war.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that, together with French President Emmanuel Macron, he would hold a summit this week “to drive forward the international effort” to end the conflict and unblock the strait.
Starmer told lawmakers it must reopen with no conditions or tolls.