‘Shoot and kill’ Iranian boats laying sea mines, Trump tells military – National
President Donald Trump said on Thursday he had ordered the US military to “shoot and kill” small Iranian boats that are sending mines to choke traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump’s social media posts come shortly after the US military seized another tanker linked to Iranian oil smuggling, sparking a standoff with Tehran over the crisis through which 20 percent of all crude oil and natural gas is traded.
“I have ordered the United States Navy to shoot and kill any boat, small boat or possibly … that is laying mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said. There should be no doubt. In addition, our ‘minesweepers’ are currently clearing the Strait.”
“Therefore I order that work to continue, but at a threefold rate!” Trump added.
He also said that the military is intensifying operations to remove mines from an important waterway.
The move comes a day after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards attacked three cargo ships in the port, seizing two of them.
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On Thursday, the Ministry of Defense released a video of American soldiers on the deck of the Guinea-flagged oil tanker Majestic X, which was seized in the Indian Ocean.
“We will continue to enforce maritime law around the world to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels that provide logistical support to Iran, wherever they operate,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
Ship tracking data showed the Majestic X in the Indian Ocean between Sri Lanka and Indonesia, almost the same location as the oil tanker Tifani, which was seized by US forces earlier. It was headed for Zhoushan, China.
The ship was previously named Phonix and was sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in 2024 for smuggling Iranian crude oil in violation of US sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
There was no immediate response from Iran on news of the seizure.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the ceasefire while maintaining the US embargo on Iranian ports. There is no immediate sign that peace talks, which have been hosted by Pakistan, will resume anytime soon.
The standoff between the US and Iran has effectively halted almost all exports to the crisis without end.
On Thursday, Iran’s exiled crown prince, Reza Pahlavi, was sprayed with red liquid as he left a building after a press conference in Berlin. The suspect was said to have been arrested by the police immediately.
During the event, Pahlavi criticized the cease-fire between the US and Iran, saying that the agreement assumes that the behavior of the Iranian government will change and “you will face people who have become pragmatists.”
Pahlavi, 65, has been in exile for nearly 50 years. His father, the shah of Iran, was so hated that millions took to the streets in 1979, forcing him to take power. Still, Pahlavi is trying to position himself as a player in his country’s future.
Since February 28, the war between Iran, Israel and the United States began, more than 30 ships were attacked in the waters of the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman.
The threat of attacks, rising insurance premiums and other fears have kept cars from moving in this crisis. Iran’s ability to impose restrictions on traffic, from the Persian Gulf to the open sea, has proved a major strategic advantage.
The ceasefire has affected US attacks on Iranian ships and those carried out by Iran on commercial vessels. It is also unknown when the two sides will meet again in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, where officials say they are still trying to bring the countries together to reach a diplomatic agreement.
The conflict has already sent fuel prices soaring outside the region and raised the cost of food and a host of other products. Officials around the world have warned the impact on businesses, consumers and economies could be long-lasting.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
