Trump warns of 'eliminating' Iranian ships as US naval blockade on Strait of Hormuz begins

WASHINGTON: The United States Naval blockade begins in the Strait of Hormuz after the deadline of 7 pm (10 am ET). A blockade was imposed on all the ships entering or leaving Iranian ports.

After the deadline, Trump warned on the Truth Social platform about the blockade.

" If any of these ships come anywhere close to our blockade, they will be immediately eliminated," he wrote.

"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 blocked, 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. P.S. 98.2% of Drugs coming into the US by ocean or sea have stopped!" he said.

Earlier, the US military said it will begin a ​blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports and coastal areas on Monday, after weekend talks failed to reach a deal to end the war with Iran, jeopardising ‌a fragile two-week ceasefire.

Meanwhile, the unified command of the Iranian armed forces said the ports in the Arabian Gulf and the Sea of Oman are “either for everyone or for no one," state broadcaster IRIB reported, according to Al Jazeera.

“The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran consider defending the legal rights of our country a natural and legal duty, and accordingly, exercising the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the territorial waters of our country is the natural right of the Iranian nation,” IRIB cited Iran’s forces as stating.

Al Jazeera reported that the forces' statement read “Enemy-affiliated vessels” will have the right to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, while other vessels will be allowed passage, subject to regulations by Tehran.

“The criminal US’s imposition of restrictions on the movement of vessels in international waters is an illegal act and amounts to piracy.” If the security of the ports is threatened, no port in the region “will be safe”, the forces added, as per Al Jazeera.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump said he and his advisers were considering resuming limited military strikes on Iran, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The Islamabad Talks 2026, which ran from Saturday into early Sunday, were the first direct US-Iranian meeting in more than a decade and the highest-level discussions since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The negotiations came days after a ceasefire began on Tuesday, aimed at ending six weeks of fighting that has killed thousands of people across the Gulf, throttled vital supplies of energy and sparked fears of a wider regional conflict.

The US Central Command said that the US blockade, starting ​at 10am ET on Monday (7pm PKT), would be "enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf ​and Gulf of Oman."