Trump warns Iranian 'fast-attack' ships near US blockade will be eliminated

US President Donald Trump on Monday claimed that Iran’s navy had been “completely obliterated”, alleging that 158 ships had been destroyed and now lay “at the bottom of the sea”. In a post on Truth Social, he said smaller “fast attack ships” were not targeted, as they were not seen as a major threat.

“Iran’s Navy is lying 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,” he said.

He issued a stark warning that any such vessels approaching a US “blockade” would be “immediately eliminated”, describing the response as “quick and brutal”.

“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 drug dealers on boats at sea. It is quick and brutal,” the President of the United States said.

Trump also asserted that 98.2 per cent of drugs entering the United States via sea routes had been stopped.

Earlier, Iran signalled a sharp escalation, stating it would target ports in and around the Persian Gulf if its own shipping hubs were threatened. According to state-run IRIB News, Iran’s armed forces said regional port security must apply universally — “either for everyone or for no one.”

Tehran also described any US move to block the Strait of Hormuz as “an act of piracy”, while reiterating plans to retain control over the critical passage even after the conflict.

The exchange marks a deepening standoff over the strait, a key global energy corridor that handles roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows. Iran’s remarks signal a potential return to attacks on Gulf ports if Washington follows through on its plan to block maritime traffic linked to Iranian hubs.

Such a move could also heighten tensions between the US and China, which remains a major buyer of Iranian crude.

The disruption in the strait since the conflict began has already pushed up oil and gas prices, turning the waterway into a central flashpoint in the more than six-week confrontation. Although the US-Israeli alliance and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire on April 7, talks over the weekend failed to produce a longer-term settlement.

Trump announced the blockade after those negotiations, held in Pakistan, broke down, warning that US military action would resume if Iran resisted. “Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be blown to hell!” he said.

Details of the proposed blockade, including its exact location and the scale of deployment, remain unclear.