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Iran's unified armed forces command declared Monday that the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports is "illegal and amounts to piracy."
The command announced it would implement a "permanent mechanism" to control the Strait of Hormuz even after the war ends, and warned that if the security of Iranian ports is threatened, "no port in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman will be safe."
The spokesperson for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters issued the statement through state broadcaster IRIB and Tasnim News Agency.
"The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran consider defending the legal rights of our country a natural and legal duty, and accordingly, exercising the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the territorial waters of our country is the natural right of the Iranian nation," the statement said.
"The armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran clearly and decisively declare: the security of ports in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman is either for everyone or for no one. If the security of the Islamic Republic of Iran's ports in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman is threatened, no port in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman will be safe," it added.
The statement confirmed that Iran's existing Hormuz restrictions will continue and will be formalized into a permanent structure.
"Security in the territorial waters of the Islamic Republic of Iran will continue to be ensured with decisiveness by the armed forces, and as has been declared many times, enemy-affiliated vessels do not and will not have the right to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Other vessels will continue to be allowed passage through the strait subject to compliance with Islamic Republic of Iran armed forces regulations," the statement said.
"Given the continued threats from the enemy against the Iranian nation and the national security of our country, even after the end of the war, the Islamic Republic of Iran will resolutely implement a permanent mechanism to control the Strait of Hormuz," it added.
The statement directly addressed Trump's blockade announcement.
"The criminal U.S.' imposition of restrictions on the movement of vessels in international waters is an illegal act and amounts to piracy," the Iranian armed forces said.
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