President Donald Trump has ordered the United States Navy to fire on any Iranian boats that are placing mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump wrote in a post on social media, that the military will heighten its efforts to remove explosives from the strategic waterway.
“I have ordered the United States Navy to shoot and kill any boat, small boats though they may be (Their naval ships are ALL, 159 of them, at the bottom of the sea!), that is putting mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz. There is to be no hesitation.”
Donald Trump
At the same time, Trump said that the United States has been working to clear mines from the strait. “Additionally, our mine ‘sweepers’ are clearing the Strait right now,” he said, adding, “I am hereby ordering that activity to continue, but at a tripled up level!”
Last month Trump similarly said that the US military would attack any ships that were laying mines. The issue has returned to the spotlight as Trump negotiates how to move shipping traffic through the strait as global economic pressures build. Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have said repeatedly that Iran’s naval forces, estimated to be around 150 ships, have been destroyed.
Iranian officials have repeatedly promised that their country would defend itself and respond to any US attack. Hormuz, which had been open without interruption before the war, has emerged as a major point of contention in this war. Iran closed down the strait in response to the US-Israeli military campaign, and it is now suggesting that it has rights to the passage that links the Gulf to the Indian Ocean – parts of which go through Iranian territorial waters.
The closure of Hormuz has spiked oil prices, putting political pressure on Trump at home in the US, where the price of one gallon (3.8 litres) of petrol has surpassed $4, up from $3 before the conflict.
Iran has set US lifting its blockade as a precondition for resuming talks with the US. Trump extended the ceasefire that was set to expire on Wednesday, but Washington has kept its blockade on Iran-linked ships. The Pentagon said today that the US military conducted a “maritime interdiction and right-of-visit” to a tanker carrying Iranian oil in the Indian Ocean. Earlier this week, the US military also said it seized an Iranian vessel and ordered dozens of others to turn around.
Meanwhile, Iran has also captured foreign commercial vessels around the Hormuz Strait, which it said were in violation of naval regulations. The duelling blockades risk re-igniting the war. The US has not set a deadline for the extended truce.
Trump Expresses Frustration With Iran’s Leadership
In a separate Truth social post, President Donald Trump expressed frustration with Iran’s leadership as he awaits a “unified” proposal to end the war. The US President also reiterated his claim that the Iranian leadership is divided.
“Iran is having a very hard time figuring out who their leader is! They just don’t know! The infighting is between the ‘Hardliners,’ who have been losing BADLY on the battlefield, and the ‘Moderates,’ who are not very moderate at all (but gaining respect!), is CRAZY!”
Donald Trump
Earlier in the day, Trump shared a post by conservative commentator Marc Thiessen, calling for the assassination of Iranian officials who oppose diplomacy with the US. “If there are two factions in Iran, one that wants a deal and one that doesn’t, let’s kill the ones who don’t want a deal,” it said. Despite Trump’s repeated claims, there has been no evidence of a rift within the leadership in Iran.
Although US and Israeli strikes killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and several top officials, there have been no major defections within the ruling system. Last month, Khamenei was replaced by his son Mojtaba, who, according to the Pentagon, had been wounded in US attacks.
Mojtaba Khamenei is yet to make a public appearance since he succeeded his slain father, raising speculation about his health. However, Iranian officials, including the lead negotiators; Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, have voiced a unified position in rejecting the US blockade.
Trump also claimed in the post that the US has “total control over the Strait of Hormuz.” He asserted that no ship can enter or leave without the approval of the United States Navy. “It is ‘Sealed up Tight,’ until such time as Iran is able to make a DEAL!!!” he wrote in his post.
READ ALSO: Alex Acheampong and Diana Hamilton Uplift Spirits with New Single “ABC”
