Iran on Monday warned of wider regional consequences if its ports come under threat, hours after US President Donald Trump set 5:30 pm (Iran time) as the start of a planned blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
The spokesperson for Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said that maritime security in the region must be “collective”, cautioning that any move targeting Iranian ports would have a ripple effect across neighbouring countries, Mehr news agency reported.
He warned that if the security of Iranian ports is threatened, “no port in the Persian Gulf or Gulf of Oman would remain secure.” Track US-Iran war live updates.
The fresh Iranian warning came as the United States military said it will move ahead with a blockade of Iranian ports and coastal areas from Monday. The decision followed reports that limited ship movement had resumed through the Strait after the annoucement of the two-week ceasefire.
The move came after marathon ceasefire negotiations between Washington and Tehran in Pakistan ended without a breakthrough.
Blockade timeline and scope
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the blockade would begin at 10 am EDT (5:30 pm in Iran) on Monday and 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.”
However, CENTCOM clarified that ships travelling between non-Iranian ports would still be allowed to pass through the strait, marking a step back from the earlier proposal to block the entire waterway.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said that American forces would intercept any vessel in international waters found to have paid a toll to Iran.
“No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas,” Trump wrote on social media, warning: “Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!”
He also said the US Navy would begin clearing mines that Iran had deployed in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint that handles roughly 20% of global energy supplies.
The announcement has already disrupted the fragile recovery in maritime movement through the strait. An early report from Lloyd’s List Intelligence cited by AP, indicated that ship traffic, which had briefly resumed following the ceasefire, stalled again after the blockade was announced.
