Trump threatens to strike Iranian ship close to US blockade in Strait of Hormuz

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump warned on Monday that the US military will "eliminate" any Iranian ship if it comes close to the US blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.

"Iran's Navy is laying 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," Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.

"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," Trump said.

Military analysts have previously said Iran's naval forces include a mix of conventional vessels and smaller, fast-moving craft designed for asymmetric operations in confined waterways such as the Strait of Hormuz.