Iran warns US to end blockade or face ‘graveyard’ in Sea of Oman
Former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezaei says Iran sees the US naval blockade as an act of war and is ready to respond.
An Iranian official has issued a warning to US President Donald Trump, saying the Sea of Oman could become a “graveyard” if the United States does not end its blockade of Iranian ports.
Mohsen Rezaei, a member of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council and a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), warned Washington to lift the blockade, saying Iran’s military was ready for further confrontation.
Speaking on Iranian state television, Rezaei said: “We advise the US military to end the siege before the Sea of Oman becomes your graveyard.”
Rezaei described the US naval blockade as “an act of war”, adding that confronting it was Tehran’s natural right.
“The longer they prolong the naval blockade of Iran, the greater the damage will be to countries around the world,” Rezaei said.
On negotiations to end the conflict, Rezaei said the United States needed to “show in practice that it is credible”.
“It is now America that must prove itself. Our military is ready to pull the trigger, while diplomatic negotiations continue,” he said.
The US blockade of Iranian ports began on April 13. Trump has said the blockade will remain in place until Iran agrees to a peace deal on his terms, while Tehran has said it will not surrender to US pressure. Bloomberg reported in April that the US military had said it would implement a blockade of maritime traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports, while allowing other vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz if they were not stopping in Iran.
