TEHRAN, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Iran's main military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, has said that if the security of Iranian ports in the country's southern waters is threatened, no port in the Gulf or the Sea of Oman will be safe, according to the official news agency IRNA.

Photo taken on Feb. 5, 2026 shows a street view in Muscat, Oman. (Photo: Xinhua)

Ebrahim Zolfaghari, the headquarters' spokesman, issued the warning on Monday, one day after U.S. President Donald Trump, in reaction to the failure of the peace talks between the Iranian and U.S. delegations in Pakistan, said in a post on Truth Social that the U.S. Navy would begin blocking ships trying to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz.

Zolfaghari said the Iranian armed forces announced "explicitly and decisively" that the ports' security in the Gulf and the Sea of Oman is ensured either for everyone or no one.

Zolfaghari said Iran's armed forces consider defending Iran's lawful rights a "natural and legal duty," adding that exercising Iran's sovereignty over its territorial waters is among the Iranian nation's "natural" rights.

He noted that Iran's armed forces will decisively continue to ensure security in the country's territorial waters with determination, stressing that, as announced repeatedly, the "enemy-affiliated" vessels do not and will not have the right to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

Zolfaghari added that other vessels will continue to be allowed to pass through the waterway in compliance with the Iranian armed forces' regulations.

On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran's then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and U.S. assets in the Middle East, and tightened control over the Strait of Hormuz by restricting passage by vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States.

A two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States took effect on Wednesday, followed by the holding of lengthy talks between the Iranian and U.S. delegations in Pakistan's capital Islamabad, which failed to lead to an agreement.