The US President Donald Trump has ordered the US military to "shoot and kill" any boat that lays mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
He wrote about this in his Truth Social.
"I have ordered the U.S. Navy to destroy any vessels — even small boats — that lay mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz. No hesitation. I note that all 159 Iranian warships are already lying on the bottom of the sea," Trumpʼs post reads.
He also added that American minesweepers were now "clearing the strait" and gave the order to speed up their pace three times.
"We have complete control of the Strait of Hormuz. No ship can enter or leave without permission from the US Navy. It [the Strait] is ʼsealed tightʼ until Iran is ready to make a DEAL!!!!" the US president wrote in another post on Truth Social.
The US began clearing mines in the Strait of Hormuz to restore shipping after the war with Iran on April 11. At that time, the New York Times, citing American officials, wrote that Iran was not opening the Strait of Hormuz because it could not find its own mines.
War in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz
On the morning of February 28, the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran. These attacks killed Iranʼs Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and almost the entire military leadership of the country — about 40 key high-ranking officials.
Iran, in response to the US and Israeli attacks, began shelling Arab countries and Israel. The war also halted tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow sea corridor between Iran and Oman that connects the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean. It was through it that almost a fifth of the worldʼs oil exports passed — tens of millions of barrels a day.
On April 8, the parties agreed to a two-week ceasefire. On April 13, the United States began a naval blockade of Iranian ports, demanding the complete unblocking of the Strait of Hormuz for all ships.
On April 17, Lebanon and Israel agreed to a ceasefire, after which Iran unblocked the Strait of Hormuz. However, on April 18, Iran announced that it was again blocking the Strait of Hormuz due to the US naval blockade. On the same day , Iran fired on several ships attempting to pass through the strait.
Two days later, the US intercepted the Iranian-flagged cargo ship Touska in the Gulf of Oman as it attempted to breach the naval blockade. US troops then boarded the ship for the first time since the naval blockade began.
On April 19, Donald Trump reported that his representatives would go to Pakistan for talks. But Iran refused to send its delegation. The Foreign Ministry noted that the US had violated the ceasefire, and Iran "cannot forget the US attacks on it during previous talks".
Already on April 21, Trump wrote that he had extended the ceasefire with Iran until the Iranians submit their proposals and end the discussions.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.