PRESIDENT Donald Trump ordered the United States Navy to fire on any Iranian boats that are placing mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
“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,” Trump wrote in a post on social media.
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. I am hereby ordering that activity to continue, but at a tripled up level!” Trump said.
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. But CNN has previously reported that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) retains assets such as small boats.
