Trump warns Iranian attack ships near Hormuz Strait will be ‘eliminated’ as US Navy’s blockade comes into effect

As US Navy’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz came into effect on Monday, US President Donald Trump issued a stern warning to Iranian “fast attack ships”, saying any ships that come close to the blockade will be eliminated using the same system that the United States military uses against drug dealers.

He said that while the US has “completely obliterated” the Iranian Navy during the war, the country still has a small number of “fast attack ships”.

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“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

He further warned, “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.”

His warning came after Iran threatened to target all ports in the Persian Gulf. In a statement, Iran’s Lieutenant Colonel Ebrahim Zolfaqari said that any threat to the country’s ports would trigger “a broader regional response.”

After the failure of Islamabad talks, Trump announced that the US Navy will blockade the Strait of Hormuz and all ships that sail through the chokepoint waterway after paying toll to Iran will not be allowed to cross.

However, Iran said that it considers the “defense of the country’s national rights a natural and lawful obligation, including the exercise of sovereignty in the country’s territorial waters.”

Reiterating the Iranian position, Zolfaqari stressed that protection of maritime security in Iranian waters will continue decisively, reported Press TV.

“Enemy-affiliated vessels do not and will not have the right to pass through the Strait of Hormuz,” he added.