President Trump took to social media to warn Iran that American forces would destroy small attack boats if they approached U.S. Navy vessels enforcing its new blockade.
As per a U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) statement, from 1400 GMT (1500 BST) yesterday (Monday) naval vessels began “implementing a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports.”
The blockade is being enforced east of the Strait of Hormuz. An advisory notice issued by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a Royal Navy-operated 24/7 capability that acts as a point of contact for merchant ships in high-risk areas, said restrictions “encompass the entirety of the Iranian coastline, including ports and energy infrastructure.”
“Transit passage through the Strait of Hormuz to or from non-Iranian destinations is not reported to be impeded by these measures; however, vessels may encounter military presence, directed communications, or right-of-visit procedures during passage.”
On social media President Trump stated: “Iran’s Navy is laying 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.”
He added: “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.”
Over the past months U.S. forces have been destroying small boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific in a bid to stop drug smugglers landing narcotics on the American mainland.
In the U.K., Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer made a statement to the House of Commons yesterday updating MPs on the situation in the Middle East. He reiterated that Britain would not be involved in enforcing the blockade and called for freedom of navigation of the waterway for all vessels and an end to Iranian tolls.
The U.K. PM backed the ceasefire but said Lebanon must be included in its terms. He said Britain and France would convene an international summit later this week for dozens of countries on the waterway, focusing on ending the conflict through diplomatic efforts and military planning to support free transit through the strait once a lasting truce had been fully agreed.
- You can read the latest CENTCOM updates on its X social media feed