A U.S. blockade on maritime traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports went into effect on Monday with over 15 warships deployed to provide support for this operation after weekend peace talks in Pakistan's Islamabad broke down.
The U.S. military has imposed the blockade on the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea east of the Strait of Hormuz, targeting ships of all countries entering and leaving all Iranian ports and coastal areas, but excluding ships traveling to and from non-Iranian ports or passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Any unauthorized entry into or exit from the blockade area may be intercepted, diverted, or detained.
According to sources, one aircraft carrier, several guided-missile destroyers, one amphibious assault ship, and several other vessels have been deployed in the Middle East. These ships can carry helicopters to conduct boarding and inspection operations. The U.S. Navy has trained boarding teams of 10 to 14 people to control merchant ships and guide them to anchorages or ports for seizure.
Former U.S. Navy Captain Carl Schuster said that Iran still possesses the capability to counter the U.S. forces enforcing the blockade with mines, missile boats, unmanned surface vessels, drones, and land-based cruise missiles.
Some U.S. officials have warned that U.S. warships operating near Iran's coasts could be attacked with virtually no warning.
U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Monday that the U.S. military will "eliminate" any Iranian ship if it comes close to the U.S. blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.
"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 said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.
"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," Trump said.
President Trump said Monday in another Truth Social post that 34 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, which is by far the highest number, as the deadline for his naval blockade of Iranian ports ended.
On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran's then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and U.S. assets in the Middle East, and tightened control over the Strait of Hormuz by restricting passage by vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States.
A two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States took effect on April 8 to end nearly 40 days of fighting, followed by the holding of lengthy talks between the Iranian and U.S. delegations in Islamabad, which ended on Sunday morning without reaching a deal.
US blockade of Hormuz Strait in effect with15 warships deployed
