President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. AP
“Warning: If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED,” Trump said on his Truth Social network, at the same time claiming that the rest of Iran’s navy had been “completely obliterated.”
The US military would be “using the same system of kill that we use against the drug dealers on boats at sea,” the president said, referring to air strikes on alleged narcotics boats off the coast of Venezuela.
The open threats against Iranian ships came moments after the deadline set by Trump for the naval blockade had passed.
Trump announced a blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz after weekend peace talks with Tehran ended without an agreement.
The US military announced on Sunday it would begin blockading all Iranian Gulf ports on Monday at 1400 GMT, but would allow ships not coming or going to Iran to pass through the strait.
*This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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