As peace talks between Washington and Tehran remain deadlocked and the threat of renewed military confrontation looms, Iran's most senior military voice has delivered a stark and unambiguous warning to the United States Navy amid naval blocakade in Hormuz: leave, or face the consequences.
In remarks broadcast on Iranian state television and shared by Russian state outlet RT on Monday, Mohsen Rezaei, a member of Iran's Expediency Discernment Council and military adviser to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, drew a hard line against the ongoing US naval blockade.
"My advice to the US militarily is to back off before the Gulf of Oman turns into a graveyard for your ships. Otherwise, our understanding is that a naval blockade is an act of war, and responding to it is our natural right," Rezaei said.
He added pointedly that Iran's restraint so far should not be mistaken for acceptance — "we've been patient until now... doesn't mean we've accepted this war from you," RT quoted him as saying.
In a separate set of remarks also shared by RT, Rezaei took direct aim at US President Trump's credibility, accusing Washington of having twice attempted and failed to force open the Strait of Hormuz before declaring yet another ceasefire.
He claimed the US was actively concealing evidence of IRGC-inflicted damage to American vessels, asserting that satellite imagery showed fires and structural damage that Washington had not acknowledged publicly.
He also challenged Trump's claim that a naval blockade does not constitute an act of war, stating that legal experts worldwide disagreed.
The comments come against a volatile backdrop. The US imposed its naval blockade on Iran on April 13, 2026, following the collapse of the Islamabad Talks, with American forces intercepting dozens of vessels attempting to reach Iranian ports.
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The IRGC has claimed that Tehran set the Pentagon a deadline to lift the blockade, and warned that Trump must choose between "an impossible military operation or a bad deal" with Iran.
With Trump warning of strikes "much harder than before" and Iran's generals threatening to turn the Gulf into a naval graveyard, the window for diplomacy is narrowing by the hour.
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