President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered the US Navy to “shoot and kill” Iranian boats still laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, as US warships embarked on the time-consuming task of locating bombs in the waterway and clearing it for commercial shipping.
The President’s push comes amidst the noise Worried it could take months All mines in the strait, a vital transit route for 20 percent of the world’s oil, were uprooted.
Trump did not directly say how long it would take to clear the waterway, but urged the Navy to target any remaining boats still laying mines.
“There should be no hesitation,” he wrote on Truth Social on Thursday. “Additionally, our mine ‘sweepers’ are clearing the straits right now. I am ordering that activity to continue, but at three times the level!”
The president on Tuesday extended the shaky ceasefire between the US and Iran, but said he would continue the US blockade of Iranian shipping in the strait.
Iran slowed traffic on the waterway within weeks after the US and Israel launched a joint operation against Tehran in February. Due to this, global gas prices started skyrocketing.
The US blockade has strained relations even further, with Tehran now blocking peace talks until it concludes peace talks.
Further talks have not yet been scheduled, but Trump said earlier this week that they would It was “possible” that talks could resume Until this weekend.
Experts worry that if a ship is damaged or destroyed by a mine in the waterway, it would further block trade.
The White House has taken pains in recent days to downplay the threat of Iranian boats in the strait, especially after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized two foreign ships in the waterway on Wednesday. Press Secretary Carolyn Levitt stressed that the seizure was not a violation of the ceasefire and said it was proof that the US military operation was working.
He added, “And for the American media that is exaggerating this to discredit the president’s facts – that he has completely destroyed Iran’s conventional navy – both of these ships were quickly taken by gunmen.” “Iran has gone from having the most lethal navy in the Middle East to acting like a bunch of pirates.”
In a separate post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump claimed that “Iran is having a very difficult time figuring out who their leader is,” and said the country’s hard-liners were at odds with its moderates.
“We have complete control over the Strait of Hormuz,” he added. “No ships can enter or depart without United States Navy approval. It is ‘tightly sealed’ until Iran is able to make a deal!!!”
