Iran Asks US to Pull Its Ships or the Gulf of Oman Will Become a Graveyard

Iran on Sunday threatened confrontation with the United States over its naval blockade, with a top military adviser to the country's supreme leader warning the Gulf of Oman could become a "graveyard" for US ships if tensions continue to escalate.

"My advice to the US military is to withdraw before the Gulf of Oman turns into a graveyard for your ships. Otherwise, our understanding is that the naval blockade is an act of war, and responding to it is our natural right," Major General Mohsen Rezaei, a member of the Iranian Policy-Making Council, said in a statement broadcast Sunday by Iranian Government television, Anadolu (18/5).

Furthermore, Major General Rezaei said that the patience of the State of the Mullahs should not be interpreted as acceptance of pressure or threats.

"If we have been patient up until now, it does not mean we have accepted it," he said.

He also questioned the reasons behind the continued presence of US military in the Gulf, arguing that Washington no longer had the justification it once used to defend its role in the region.

"America came here and brought its warships. Who is their enemy? In the past, they said they came to face the Soviet Union," he asked.

"The Soviet Union no longer exists," Major General Rezaei said.

He explained that the Strait of Hormuz is always open for trade and argued that what is rejected is a foreign military campaign, not commercial movement.

"The Strait of Hormuz is open for trade, but will be closed for military construction and any attempt to destabilize security," Major General Rezaei said.

Regional tensions have been on the rise since the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran on February 28, which triggered a retaliatory attack by Tehran and disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.

The ceasefire came into effect on April 8 through Pakistani mediation, but talks in Islamabad failed to reach a lasting agreement.

Later, US President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire indefinitely.

Since April 13, the US has imposed a naval blockade targeting Iranian maritime traffic in the strategic waterway.