Iranian military threatens to block the Red Sea if the US blockade continues

Illustration of IRGC naval exercise. (Wikimedia Commons/sayyed shahab-o- din vajedi)

JAKARTA - The Iranian military on Wednesday warned that they would block trade through the Red Sea, Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman if the United States naval blockade of Iranian ports continued.

In a statement carried by Iranian state television, the head of the military command center said that if the US continued the blockade and "created insecurity for Iranian merchant ships and oil tankers," it would also be "a prelude" to violating the ceasefire.

"The powerful Iranian armed forces will not allow any exports or imports to continue in the Gulf (Persian), the Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea," Ali Abdollahi said, launching Al Arabiya from AFP (15/4).

He added that Iran would "act decisively to defend national sovereignty and interests."

The United States has imposed a blockade on Iranian ports since Monday, after US-Iranian talks over the weekend in Pakistan failed to produce an agreement to end the war.

However, maritime tracking data on Tuesday showed that several ships sailing from Iranian ports had crossed the Strait of Hormuz despite the blockade.

On Wednesday, Iran's Tasnim news agency, citing anonymous sources familiar with the information, said shipments from Iran's southern ports continued.

"Iranian commercial vessels have sailed to various destinations around the world" over the past 24 hours, he added.