LISTEN: CENTCOM releases audio warning to vessels near Iranian ports

U.S. Central Command has released an audio recording of the warning being broadcast to all vessels attempting to enter or leave Iranian ports, as the American naval blockade entered its fourth day on Thursday with no ships having broken through.

“If you do not comply with this blockade, we will use force,” the message states. “The whole of the United States Navy is ready to force compliance.”

The warning came as CENTCOM announced on Wednesday that the guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance had intercepted and redirected an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel that attempted to evade the blockade after departing Bandar Abbas, exiting the Strait of Hormuz, and transiting along the Iranian coastline. The vessel was heading back to Iran, according to CENTCOM.

Ten vessels have now been turned around since the blockade took effect Monday, with zero ships having broken through, the command said. The operation involves more than 10,000 U.S. personnel, over a dozen warships and more than 100 fighter and surveillance aircraft.

The blockade applies to all vessels entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas along the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, while ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz to non-Iranian destinations are not subject to interdiction, CENTCOM said.

President Donald Trump announced the blockade following the breakdown of nuclear negotiations with Iran last weekend, amid a two-week ceasefire following a joint U.S.-Israel military operation that began on Feb. 28. U.S.-Iran talks are expected to resume this weekend.

Adm. Brad Cooper, the CENTCOM commander, completed his second trip to the Middle East in 15 days on Thursday, engaging regional partners in six countries and visiting U.S. troops. Cooper visited the Jewish state on Tuesday, Holocaust Remembrance Day, meeting with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, as well as Holocaust survivor Bella Haim, according to the IDF.