Any Iranian ships that come close to the US blockade of Iranian ports "will be immediately eliminated," US President Donald Trump has said.
"Iran’s Navy is lying 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,” Trump wrote on Monday on his social media platform Truth Social.
"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."
Blocking Iranian ports
His warning came right after the US Central Command (CENTCOM) began implementing a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports.
CENTCOM, which is responsible for military operations in the Mideast and elsewhere, said on Sunday that the blockade will be "enforced impartially against vessels of all nations" entering or leaving Iranian ports in the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
"CENTCOM forces will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports," it said.
The announcement followed rare direct talks between the US and Iran in Pakistan over the weekend aimed at ending the war that began on Feb. 28, but the negotiations failed to produce an agreement.
