10,000 US soldiers enforce blockade of Iranian ports
US military says no ship passed in 24 hours; blockade is being enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas
In carrying out a blockade of Iranian ports, the US military has deployed more than 10,000 US sailors, marines, and airmen.
Over a dozen warships and dozens of aircraft, including fighter jets and surveillance planes, are on duty to execute the mission to blockade ships entering and departing Iranian ports, the US Central Command said on Tuesday night.
The blockade was enforced at 7:30 pm Indian time on Monday. The Central Command said during the first 24 hours, no ships made it past the US blockade and six merchant vessels complied with the direction from US forces to turn around and go back to an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman, a statement posted on X said.
The blockade is being 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.
The US Central Command, which is tasked with West Asia, said the US forces are supporting freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.
The US has warned ships against entering or exiting Iranian ports, ‘without permission’, saying they will be “subject to interception, diversion, and capture”.
China, which sources a large volume of its crude oil needs from Iran, reacted sharply, calling the blockade “dangerous and irresponsible.”
The US naval blockade of Iran has come into effect as Trump’s administration tries to pressure Tehran into accepting its terms for an end to the war by trying to squeeze the Iranian economy.
US Central Command has enforced a blockade in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea east of the Strait of Hormuz.
“The blockade will not impede neutral transit passage through the Strait of Hormuz to or from non-Iranian destinations in the Persian Gulf.”
The Iranians have also threatened that their fast missile boats named the ‘Red bees of the Persian Gulf’ are warming up. “Now they’re (US) about to find out how a swarm can pin you down really quick.”
Maritime watch keeper, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre issued an advisory on Monday night detailing the threats posed by the US blockade.
Vessels operating in the Strait of Hormuz approaches, the Gulf of Oman, and adjacent waters have been advised to communicate through the ‘channel-16’, the maritime channel for ship-to-ship communications.
