Iran pushed back on Monday against Trump’s claim that its navy had been finished, showcasing fast missile boats and warning the US that it faced a response if it pressed ahead with its naval blockade of Iranian ports.
The Iranian consulate in Mumbai posted visuals of Iranian naval vessels on social media, stating that the fast missile boats were warming up and warning that those who underestimate Iran would find out how a swarm can pin down an enemy. The post drew on the imagery of Iran’s doctrine of swarming small-boat tactics in the confined waters of the Strait of Hormuz, where projectiles can be fired from distances that leave little time for a defensive response.
The warning came after Trump posted on Truth Social that Iranian navy fast-attack boats approaching the US blockade would be immediately eliminated. The US military declared the blockade effective from 1400 GMT on Monday, covering all vessels entering or departing Iranian ports on both sides of the waterway. The IRGC said any military vessel approaching the Strait of Hormuz would face a response and that the strait remained under Iran’s full control.
Iran still holds the ability to fight back with mines, fast-attack boats carrying missiles, surface drones, aerial drones, and land-based cruise missiles, analysts say. Navy officials have previously described the strait as an Iranian kill box. Two US Navy destroyers, the USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. and the USS Michael Murphy, transited the strait on Saturday as part of a mine-clearing mission, marking the first US warship passage since the war began on February 28.
The US currently has the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, 11 destroyers, and the USS Tripoli amphibious group operating in the Middle East. A third carrier and additional Marines are on their way to the region. Retired Admiral James Stavridis, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, said the blockade strategy aims to cut off Iran’s oil export revenue, which Tehran has continued to collect throughout the war while blocking other nations’ shipping. Brent crude oil climbed 7 percent to around $102 a barrel on Monday following the blockade announcement.
Iran has planted mines throughout the strait during the war. US Central Command said it had already destroyed 90 percent of them, but acknowledged that Iran retains the capability to lay more. Reports indicated that Iran itself had lost track of some of the mines it planted, complicating any full reopening of the waterway.
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