US President Donald Trump warned on Monday that any Iranian "fast-attack" ships that go near a US maritime blockade on Iran would be eliminated.
"What we have not hit are their small number of, what they call, 'fast attack ships,' because we did not consider them much of a threat. Warning: If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED, using the same system of kill that we use against the drug dealers on boats at Sea. It is quick and brutal," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Trump was referring to the dozens of US strikes carried out against suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific since September in a campaign that has killed at least 110 people.
The President also claimed success in maritime enforcement, adding, “P.S. 98.2% of Drugs coming into the US by Ocean or Sea have STOPPED!”
The blockade, which Trump announced on Sunday after US and Iranian negotiators failed to reach a deal after a round of talks in Pakistan, came into effect on Monday at 10am in Washington, DC (14:00 GMT).