Iran warns that the Strait of Hormuz will be ‘the grave of US aircraft carriers’

“The United States is the only pirate force in the world that owns aircraft carriers. Iran has the ability to fight piracy, as well as deal with enemy warships. Be prepared to face the graves of aircraft carriers and your forces, like the plane wrecks left behind in Isfahan,” Mr. Mohsen Rezaee, secretary of the Iran Arbitration Council, said in a message published today.

The Arbitration Council is an advisory body to Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. Before taking on the role of secretary of the Arbitration Council, Mr. Rezaee served as commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for 16 years.

The IRGC intelligence unit said on the same day that “the US decision-making space has narrowed”. This agency confirmed that Tehran has set a deadline to force Washington to end its seaport blockade campaign, stating that the US is under great pressure from Russia, China and European allies.

“President Donald Trump will have to choose between an impossible military operation or an unfavorable agreement with Iran,” the IRGC’s intelligence unit said.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi previously affirmed that the Iranian armed forces are fully ready to protect the country against all threats, but still left the door open for diplomacy if the US “changes its coercive approach”.

In phone calls with foreign ministers of regional countries, Mr. Araqchi said that the main cause of insecurity in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz is “military aggression by the US and Israel”. He emphasized that Iran still participates in the new round of negotiations mediated by Pakistan to end the conflict, even though it has completely lost trust” due to the US repeatedly violating its commitments.

The statements were made after President Trump described the US Navy’s shelling and control of the Iranian cargo ship Touska on April 19 as “like pirates”. “We took over the ship, took over the goods, took over the oil. No one expected that one day we would do this again, just like pirates,” he said.

Iranian state media said on April 29 that at least 52 ships in this country had broken through the blockade imposed by the US. Meanwhile, the US military announced that it had forced more than 40 cargo ships and oil tankers to change direction when trying to overcome the siege.

US officials affirmed that the seaport blockade is effective, causing Iran to lose billions of dollars in oil revenue. Washington believes that Tehran cannot currently export oil and will have to fill storage facilities until there is no more space and then stop production.