Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: US President Donald Trump warned Iran that any naval vessels approaching American ships enforcing a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz would be immediately destroyed, 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 US 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 am ET April 13 (7.30 am IST), targeting maritime access in the Strait of Hormuz after diplomatic efforts with Tehran broke down over the weekend.
US 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.
