The entire region went on high alert after President Donald Trump announced that the US Navy would impose a sweeping maritime blockade on traffic through Iranian ports – a move designed to starve the regime of funding after peace talks between the two countries hit a wall over the weekend.
Under the president's directive, the US Central Command was set to begin enforcing the blockade on Monday at 5:00 p.m. Israel time. The primary target is the collection of illegal "transit fees" that Tehran has been levying – up to two million dollars per tanker passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump hinted on Truth Social that additional countries would join the effort. But while Britain and France have been working to assemble a coalition to guarantee freedom of navigation, London made clear it would not participate in the blockade itself, and Australia said it had not yet been asked to contribute.
An Iranian armed forces spokesman branded the American move an act of "piracy" in violation of international law, Reuters reported. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that any military vessel attempting to approach the Strait of Hormuz "will be dealt with firmly and decisively," making clear it would bar passage to any ship identified with the "enemy." He warned that no port in the Persian Gulf or the Gulf of Oman would remain safe if Iranian ports came under threat, according to Reuters.
Iranian Navy commander Admiral Shahram Irani dismissed the American threat as "ridiculous" and said his forces were closely tracking every US military movement in the region.
The Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters (the IRGC's operational command) went further, declaring that security in the Persian Gulf ports was "either for everyone or for no one." A spokesman for the headquarters added, "The security of the territorial waters of the Islamic Republic of Iran will continue resolutely. Vessels identified with the enemy have no right, and will have no right, to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, while other vessels that comply with the regulations of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will be permitted to transit. Furthermore, given the ongoing threats by the enemy against the Iranian nation and our national security – even after the war – the Islamic Republic of Iran will resolutely implement a permanent mechanism for control of the Strait of Hormuz."
