This distributed photo provided by U.S. Central Command shows U.S. forces patrolling the Arabian Sea near the M/V Tuska on April 20, 2026, after firing on an Iranian-flagged vessel that the U.S. accused of attempting to violate the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports near the Strait of Hormuz.
US Navy | Getty Images
President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he has ordered the U.S. Navy to “shoot and kill ships” that are laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
“There is no need to hesitate,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
The president added that he was ordering U.S. minesweepers to continue sweeping the strait “at triple the level.”
The post marks a gradual escalation of tensions by the United States with Iran over its vital oil shipping route since the war began in late February.
President Trump has been aggressively urging Tehran to fully reopen the strait as part of a fragile cease-fire agreement, which was set to expire this week but was unilaterally extended by the president.
The United States has imposed a retaliatory naval blockade of Iranian ports in the region in a bid to force Iran to loosen its grip on the waterway and come to the negotiating table.
U.S. Central Command announced overnight that it had so far ordered 31 ships to turn around or return to port as part of the blockade.
President Trump has insisted that the United States, not Iran, is in charge of resolving the strait.
“We are in complete control of the Strait of Hormuz,” he wrote in another Truth social post late Thursday morning.
“No ships can enter or leave without US Navy approval. Until Iran can get a deal, it will be ‘strictly sealed’!!!” he wrote.
Less than 15 minutes later, President Trump graciously reposted a Washington Post op-ed titled, “President Trump Doesn’t Need a Deal to Get What He Wants from Iran.”
“It’s true!!” Trump wrote.
Tanker traffic in the strait, which normally transports 20% of the world’s oil, is far below pre-war levels.
During peacetime, more than 100 ships, including dozens of tankers, passed through the strait every day. But since Iran imposed a de facto shutdown, that number has dropped to single digits most days.
At least eight ships, including three oil tankers, passed through the strait on Wednesday, according to LSEG tracking data.
Mohammad Berger Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran’s parliament, said on Wednesday that “reopening the Strait of Hormuz is impossible” as long as the U.S. blockade remains in place.
