Trump, mocked by Ali Khamenei's former advisor for the blockade of Hormuz. “It will lead to another surprise”
Mohammad Mokhber, one of Iran's former supreme leader Ali Khamenei's advisers, says the US military's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz will escalate tensions and open “new fronts”, in a social media message calling Donald Trump a “loser”.
“Trump's confusion is the prelude to a new mistake,” wrote in a post on the X platform the former adviser to the ayatollah killed in an airstrike at the beginning of the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran.
“The illusion of blocking the Strait of Hormuz not only does not bring any achievement, but will lead to another surprise and the opening of new fronts against the system of domination, increasing economic pressure on the region, the world and their allies,” added Mohammad Mokhber, quoted by the opposition publication Iran International.
Mokhber said US President Donald Trump is a “loser” and has no choice but to “accept defeat”.
10,000 US troops involved in the blockade
US Central Command claims that no ships have passed through the first 24 hours of the blockade against Iranian ports, according to CBS News. More than 10,000 pilots, Marines and sailors are involved in the blockade, the command says, quoted by NBC News.
The US military said on Sunday that the blockade only applied to ships entering and leaving Iranian ports and coastal areas, but that it would allow ships coming and going in other directions to use the strategic route – which Iran has shut down in response to US and Israeli attacks against it.
CNN reported that the Strait of Hormuz has been transited by more ships with ties to Iran since the US blockade was instituted, but that overall activity in Iranian ports appears to be indeed lower. The US said six merchant vessels had turned back because of the blockade.
At least nine commercial ships have crossed the strait since Monday, according to Kpler, an intelligence and analysis platform. They include Rich Starry, an oil tanker sanctioned by the United States from 2023 because of its ties to Iran, and another oil tanker targeted by sanctions, Elpis, which also has ties to Iran.
