Iran’s army says US plan to blockade Hormuz ‘amounts to piracy’

The US restrictions on maritime navigation and transit in international waters are illegal, Iranian military says.The Iranian military says an announced naval blockade on vessels by the United States in international waters would be illegal and amount to piracy, warning that no Gulf ports would be safe if its own were threatened.The US military said it would begin a blockade of all Iranian ports on Monday at 14:00 GMT, after talks between the warring sides in Pakistan collapsed.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4US military threatens to blockade all Iranian ports starting on Mondaylist 2 of 4US blockade of Iran would worsen global energy crisis, analysts saylist 3 of 4Starmer says UK will not support US blockade of Strait of Hormuzlist 4 of 4Oil prices surge past $103 a barrel after US announces blockade of Iranend of listPresident Donald Trump also announced on social media that the US would blockade the strategic Strait of Hormuz trade route, which he has been demanding that Tehran fully reopen.An Iranian army statement on Monday said if the security of Iran’s “ports in the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea is threatened, no port in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea will be safe”, referring to the Gulf, which is also known as the Arabian Gulf.“The restrictions imposed by criminal America on maritime navigation and transit in international waters are illegal and constitute an example of piracy,” said the statement issued by the Iranian military’s central command centre, Khatam al-Anbiya, that was read on state television.The weekend’s failed talks dashed hopes of a swift deal to permanently end the war that has killed thousands and thrown the global economy into turmoil since it began in late February.Despite the threats, the ceasefire between the US, Israel and Iran that entered into force last week has been holding with no indication that there would be an immediate resumption of the war.Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global oil and gas shipments, has been heavily restricted since the start of the war, with Iran allowing only a few vessels serving friendly countries such as China.