US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened the Iranian navy ships coming close to the supposed blockade of the , saying Washington’s navy will “eliminate” those ships like drug dealer boats near South America.
Trump again claimed that the Iranian navy had been “completely obliterated” and was “laying at the bottom of the sea”.
“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. 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 wrote on Truth Social.
Making an unrelated claim, Trump said that 98.2 per cent of the drugs coming into the US by way of the ocean had “stopped”.
“P.S. 98.2% of Drugs coming into the U.S. by Ocean or Sea have STOPPED! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DJT,” he added.
US to put a blockade on Iranian ports?
The US military vowed to blockade all Iranian ports starting Monday, part of efforts to force Tehran into agreeing to open the Strait of Hormuz and accept a peace deal.
Iran responded with threats
That set the stage for an extraordinary showdown that posed serious risks to the global economy and raised the spectre that the ceasefire currently holding could collapse, leading to a resumption of the war.
Talks aimed at permanently ending the conflict, , failed to reach an agreement this past weekend, and there has been no word on whether negotiations will resume.
It was unclear whether the blockade had started when the designated time of 10 AM ET (7:30 PM IST) arrived. Minutes earlier, a notice to mariners issued by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency, which monitors maritime security, said the restrictions included “the entirety of the Iranian coastline, including ports and energy infrastructure.”
The notice added that transit through the strait “to or from non-Iranian destinations is not reported to be impeded by these measures,” but it added that ships “may encounter military presence” in the Strait.
Iran’s effective closure of the strait, through which 20 per cent of traded oil passes in peacetime, has sent oil prices skyrocketing, pushing up the cost of gasoline, food and other basic goods far beyond .
Tehran has allowed some ships perceived as friendly to pass while charging considerable fees, leading to accusations that it is holding the global economy hostage.
