Washington: More than 10,000 American troops are helping enforce the blockade on Iranian ports, and while no ships have yet been boarded, the US military said Thursday that it is warning Iran-linked ships that it could fire warning shots or escalate to other force if they try to outrun the Navy.
Thirteen vessels have turned around rather than confront a naval blockade that began earlier this week, Gen Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon.
Some Iran-linked or sanctioned vessels that have left the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial waterway for energy shipments, have appeared to halt their movements, turn off their radio transponders or head back toward Iran's coast, shipping data firms say. Vessels that approach the blockade, which is being enforced in Iran's territorial seas and international waters and not in the Strait of Hormuz, are given a warning, Caine said.
"Any ship that would cross the blockade would result in our sailors executing pre-planned tactics designed to bring the force to that ship - if need be, board the ship and take her over," he said.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said "less than 10% of America's naval power" is being used to enforce the blockade. The Navy has 16 warships - 11 destroyers, three amphibious assault ships, an aircraft carrier, and a littoral combat ship - in the Middle East out of a battle force of roughly 300 total warships.
Also supporting the blockade are refuelling ships as well as surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence operations designed to give the Navy the latest information on the vessels it is encountering.
Restricting Iran's sea access is a global effort, Caine said, and US military assets in other parts of the world, including in the Pacific, would pursue vessels illegally shipping Iranian oil or trying to provide material support to Tehran.
Caine noted the congestion of the area around the blockade, likening it to a crowded parking lot and US destroyers to high-powered sports cars.
"There is a lot out there," Caine said. "It is like driving a sports car through a supermarket parking lot on a payday weekend, with thousands of kids in that parking lot, as you attempt to maneuver through there to get to that ship that would attempt to run that blockade."
Meanwhile, the leader of Iran's joint military command has threatened to halt trade in the Gulf region if the US does not lift its blockade of Iranian ports. Even so, US President Donald Trump said the war in Iran was "very close to over" in an interview that aired Wednesday.
Separately, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that the US is preparing to ramp up economic pain on Iran by levying secondary sanctions on financial institutions that do business with the Middle Eastern nation.