US President Donald Trump issued a warning Monday that any Iranian attack boats that approach the American naval blockade around Iran’s ports would be destroyed, despite international calls for a ceasefire to be respected and negotiations to resume.
The US military stated that the blockade, which began at 1400 GMT, applies to all ships departing or attempting to dock at Iranian ports.
In a social media post, Trump stated that the majority of Iran’s navy had already been destroyed during the battle, but that if any of Tehran’s few remaining “fast attack ships” approached the blockade, “they will be immediately ELIMINATED.”
He also stated that 34 ships had traveled through the strait on Sunday, the most since the war began, though the figure could not be immediately confirmed.
“The ceasefire is still holding, and, as I speak, full efforts are underway to resolve the outstanding issues,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan told a cabinet meeting.
Speaking at the White House, Trump stated that Iranian negotiators had called for a settlement after the Islamabad discussions failed.
“I can tell you that we’ve been called by the other side. They’d like to make a deal. Very badly, very badly,” he told reporters outside the Oval Office, without identifying which officials had called.
Meanwhile, in a phone chat with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi blamed the US for the standstill in the talks.
“Unfortunately, we witnessed the continued excessive demands of the American side in the negotiations, which led to the failure to achieve a result,” his ministry quoted him as saying.
