'If your ships come anywhere close to...': Trump warns Iran again as US begins Hormuz blockade

US President Donald Trump warned Iran ahead of a planned naval blockade targeting Iranian ports, saying if any Iranian vessels approached US forces, they would be "immediately ELIMINATED".

Must Read: Hours ahead of US blockade of Strait of Hormuz; how many Indian oil tankers are stuck in the strait?

In a post on Truth Social, Trump claimed that Iran's naval capabilities had already been severely degraded.

"Iran's Navy is lying at the bottom of the sea, completely obliterated - 158 ships. 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," he wrote.

Must Read: $435 million daily blow: US blockade of Hormuz threatens Iran's trade lifeline

He warned Tehran against any attempt to challenge the blockade. "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," he added.

This comes as the United States Central Command prepares to enforce a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.

The US CENTCOM said its forces will begin implementing the blockade from 10 a.m. ET (7:30 pm in India) on April 13, targeting all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports.

"The blockade will be 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," it said in a statement.

However, it added that US forces would not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.

"Additional information will be provided to commercial mariners through a formal notice prior to the start of the blockade," CENTCOM said. "All mariners are advised to monitor Notice to Mariners broadcasts and contact U.S. naval forces on bridge-to-bridge channel 16 when operating in the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz approaches."

The Strait of Hormuz remains a critical global shipping route, and the developments mark a further escalation in tensions in the region.