President Trump on Thursday ordered the U.S. Navy to destroy any vessel caught laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, issuing a blunt warning to Iran as tensions in the region escalate into open confrontation.
“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 on Truth Social. “Additionally, our mine ‘sweepers’ are clearing the Strait right now. I am hereby ordering that activity to continue, but at a tripled up level!”
The directive came as the U.S. military announced it had seized an additional oil tanker linked to Iranian crude oil smuggling, the latest in a series of counter-measures as Washington tightens its grip on Tehran’s illicit petroleum trade.
Iran responded with a move that stunned shipping industry observers. Iranian lawmakers announced Thursday that the Islamic Republic has begun collecting transit fees from commercial vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz. The move drew immediate condemnation, coming as commercial traffic through the passage has ground to a near standstill, with shipping companies diverting routes to avoid what they now view as an active conflict zone.
The Strait is one of the world’s most critical chokepoints, through which a substantial share of global oil supply passes on a daily basis.
Wednesday’s events set the stage for Thursday’s escalation. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps seized two commercial vessels in the Strait on Wednesday, drawing a pointed response from the White House. Trump’s Thursday order goes considerably further, authorizing naval forces to use lethal action rather than simply issue warnings or pursue diplomatic channels.
The seizure of the additional Iranian oil tanker by U.S. military forces adds another layer to what has become a rapidly escalating standoff. American officials have long accused Iran of using tanker networks to sell oil in defiance of U.S. sanctions, with proceeds funding its military and proxy forces across the Middle East.
The confrontation puts the Biden-era policy of patient diplomacy firmly in the rearview mirror. Trump has pursued a maximum pressure approach toward Iran since returning to office, and Thursday’s orders signal his administration is prepared to back that pressure with military force.
Iran, for its part, appears to be betting that it can control the terms of any confrontation. Charging commercial vessels tolls to transit international waters is a legally baseless claim under international maritime law, and the decision to announce it publicly suggests Tehran is testing how far it can push before triggering a direct military response.
With U.S. naval forces now operating under standing shoot-to-kill orders for mine-laying activity, that test may be answered sooner than Tehran expects.
